From The Outside
by Cloud135
Summary: When we die what waits for us in the afterlife? For one, it's starting a new life in a new world as an anime character. How can one person change a world? Will the two selves collide? Angels, Devils, those caught in between.. OC Story based on The Outsider Chronicles by Dis Lexic. Rated M for future chapters & light elements of crossover.
1. I'm A Student

**From the Outside**

 **A/N:** Greetings all! Thank you everyone for reading my first ever attempt at a FanFic. Major credit to Dis Lexic (check his stuff out, seriously it's both moving and inspiring) for letting me hijack- er, i mean borrow his concept from Outsider Chronicles and put my own spin on it. This is a self-insert of sorts (it's me and it's not) with the main story being one of my favorites, High School DxD. note: some minor crossover elements but the main focus is the DxD universe and storyline. This fic will be kept up as often as possible (or until nobody likes it) and will continue through to the latest episodes of DxD BorN (so basically, Spoiler Alert in advance).

now that I've wasted chapter one on all of that, on to the fic!

Regular Text is narration/action (Issei walks)

 **"bold text is conversation" ("hey douchenozzle!")**

 _'italic text is thoughts' ('does this guy ever shut up?')_

 _ **Bold Italic is Sacred Gear thought/conversation or onomatopoeia based on context**_

 _ **i am not fortunate enough to own DxD. (T^T)**_

* * *

 _ ***poke poke***_

 **"Maybe he's really dead this time?"**

 _ ***poke poke poke***_

 **"No way! See? He's still breathing."**

 _ ***poke poke po-***_

 **"WILL YOU IDIOTS KNOCK IT OFF? I'm trying to sleep dammit.."** That's me, the lanky looking guy with fair skin green eyes and the saucy red hair gelled up like a shark fin who so happens to be yelling at Matsuda and Motohama _again_ for waking me up between classes. Why should I even pay attention, I never enjoyed social studies anyway. I should introduce myself, the name is Tokumatsu Kumonji, though my friends all call me 'Cloud' for the 'Kumo-' in 'Kumonji.' Im a 2nd year student here at Kuoh Academy, formerly an all-girls school that decided to open its doors to young men for the first time in its history. Guess who was part of the lucky selection? Yup! Yours truly. It's a great school, plenty of stuff to do, lots of bright intelligent-

 **"Yo 'Monji, I bet you were having a sexy dream about that babe Moriyama hmm? 36-22-34?"** Motohama says with a perverted grin. **"No way,"** replies Matsuda **"If you knew Ku the way I do you know he prefers them like Kazuse, 34-22-36!"**

 _'If there is some righteous power looking over me right now please intervene..'_

 **"Shut up you two..."** oh sweet merciful- **"our Kumonji isn't picky at all he appeals to all shapes of hotness with equal measure!"** As if my headache wasn't bad enough as it is, in comes the captain of the perverted trio, my own best friend Hyodou Issei. **"Issei could you please keep it down, unlike you three I still have my reputation and dignity intact, a fact that gets jeopardized every time you all hang around me."** As the conversation degrades to smut and the perving of the girls of our class 2B I stand and walk out the door down the hall and over to the hillside with the most trees. Something about watching the light dancing between the new cherry blossoms always calms me, so much so in fact that I nearly miss someone walking just behind the tree and out of my line of sight toward an older building. I can only see her for an instant, but the shimmering black hair and yellow ribbon seem to dance in the wind. And just like that, she's gone. When class ends for the day I wake out of my reverie, the same nightmare I've been having all week now. It's just fragments: bright lights, cold air, a loud scream and then I'm awake again. I wonder what it all means, but for now I just need to get through the day.

A couple hours later and Issei and I are walking home. Just another day, just an average life. It's so routine it catches me off guard when he stops halfway across the overpass on our usual route.

 **"You okay bro? Those kendo girls must have scrambled what's left of your perverted brain this afternoon.."**

 **"Hey I didn't look! It's not like I didn't want to I just didn't get to look.."**

 **"I have more reason to believe them than you, but okay if you say so"** I say, raising my hands in surrender. He stays there for a minute, looking out at the cars. The two of us see a bus approaching and as it goes under us I turn and start walking ahead. **"uh hey, I'm just gonna start out for home, if I see your parents I'll let 'em know you're on your way home alright?"** One of the benefits of having a best friend who lives next door is always looking out for each other. And occasionally telling his mom he's out buying porn just to screw with him. I think I'll do that. Just to be sure, I turn around to see if Issei's gonna be okay, and to my surprise he's talking to a girl, though I'm out of earshot and can only hope he's being a gentleman for once. With a yawn I can only swing my bag over my shoulder and trudge the rest of the way by myself.

 _'Guess I'll find out tomorrow.'_

~~~End Chapter 1: I'm a Student~~~

Author's Note: so yeah this is just a short intro to the story, but I'll be adding as much as I can as fast as I can so please stick with me. If you Read, please Review. Even if it's negative, I want to improve so review tell me what I'm doing right and what I can work on. If you follow this you are awesome and I promise to be prompt as possible. if you favorite you are my hero/heroine 'cause honestly I'm not perfect.

Also this will have some serious swearing (I'm American, and I apologize. Kinda.) fighting, probably some fluff, maybe a ship or two... and also I will most likely be rewriting chapters later on in the story if I need to make continuity errors. So violence, language, sex, rock n roll. K thanks Bai!


	2. I'm Dead!

**Intro note-** So first of all thank you to Defalt for my first positive review, and to all of you who are faving and following. i was honestly and truly skeptical of my skills but now i feel like i can take this challenge head on with confidence!

Also, a note on Kumonji's appearance, since i only skimped over it: His head is shaved on the sides and long on the top like Elliot in Mr Robot but his red hair is grown out on top and gelled to a point, making his head look like a red rhino. his skin is mid-tan like Matsuda, and stands above most everyone in his class at 5'10. also if anyone is afraid of the SI/OC being OP, i swear to keep the balance. everyone grows, but with growth comes growing pains

 **on to the good stuff!**

 ** **I do not own DxD. *sigh* if only I did..****

* * *

 **Chapter 2- I'm Dead?!**

Kumonji woke up and immediately regretted it. One look at his phone and the watch on his wrist and he knew it was just going to be a bad day. A lot of people think Monday is the worst day of the week, but they were all wrong. Monday is the start of a new week, Tuesday is when everyone hits their stride, Wednesday is the halfway mark, and Friday is the start of the weekend. No my friends, the worst day of the week in Kumonji's opinion was the dreaded Thursday. As he rolled out of bed and dressed in his warmup suit Cloud thought about all of the things wrong with Thursdays, chief among them being that it was the teaser to Friday but not as benchmark as Wednesday. Shirt, pants, socks, shoes, backpack.. wave hello to little sis as she starts making breakfast. Cloud's daily routine was to be up before dawn and jog, just enough to get the heart pumping and keep up endurance, which usually landed him at the gates of Kuoh Academy just as they opened. Deciding he had a little time before first lessons he popped in for a little light weightlifting as the gym teacher opened up and set everything out, while keeping an eye on the early bird of course.

All through the shower Cloud couldn't shake the feeling that today was going to be a particularly bad Thursday, but decided it was just his stupid superstitions playing tricks on him. Showered, shaved, hair gelled up in its usual 'pointed-straight-ahead' buzzcut and looking better than he felt he headed off to class.

 **"Tokumatsu would you please read the next Psalm in English?"**

 **"Sure. 'The Lord is my shepherd- I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside the still waters, He restoreth my soul, He leadeth me in the paths of the righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil for thou art with me- thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."**

 **"Very good, now who would like to take the next phrase?"** Mr. Sid called out others to read and practice english, but for whatever reason only Cloud had it mastered without trying. It almost came natural to him, so he didnt question it or really care for that matter. Looking over at Issei he could tell the only thing the perv had on his mind was his new girlfriend Yuuma whom he introduced to all his friends outside the school just before first bell. Suffice to say, even Cloud was stunned that she had asked Issei of all people out, and tomorrow after school no less. _'The world moves in mysterious ways I suppose..'_

At the end of the day Cloud decided he would head into the main part of the city to do some shopping. The latest edition of his favorite comic book was out, and the new action thriller from America too. _'It would be a nice relaxing weekend, just unwind before the festivals start up'_ he thought.

 **"Here take one 'kay? ^u^ it'll make all your dreams come true~!"** A cute girl with brown hair in a red dress and long bangs stands before him, having interrupted his train of thought with a single flyer. She politely shakes the page again and out of instinct he carefully takes it from her.

 **"er.. Yeah of course! Sorry you just caught me off guard. 'All my wishes will come true' huh? sweet, thanks!"** Cloud looks it over, it appears to be fairly normal so he neatly folds it in half and pushes it into his pocket as he keeps walking the next couple blocks. **"ah! Damn papercut.."** Shaking his hand he gingerly sucks the immediate blood off the tip of his thumb, resigning to deal with it later as he cuts across the street and down an alley to get to the mall quicker.

 _'Well, all things considered, it could be worse. I guess Thursdays aren't all so bad."_

Out of the shadows a man who had followed Cloud since he took the flyer makes his presence known by drawing a rather large knife.

 **"Hey pal, just put that damned thing away. I'm still a student so I'm broke as hell and if you think I'm just handing over my bank card you can shove it."** Cloud turns to face him, but the only obvious thing about the man is his ridiculous platinum hair. In no time at all Cloud has his own knife kept in his front pocket out and flipped open. **"Don't fuck with me man, I told you back off."**

 **"Aww the poor thing wants to live. Sorry Devil scum, Freed doesn't take prisoners."** The man known as Freed reaches in his coat and at that moment the last thought that Kumonji can think before the silver barrel of a pistol comes out is how he really freaking hates Thursdays.

What takes seconds feels like hours. The gun is cocked, Kumonji ducks the first shot by inches and turns to run. The second round nails his left shoulder and throws him into a crate. The third one doesn't even feel like anything, he's already numb all over. The man called Freed calmly turns and walks away, leaving the helpless young man clutching the bullet wound in his chest.

 _'Thick and red.. smells like iron. I'm so heavy, does this mean that I'm.. dy.. ing?'_ The light gets a little darker, his eyes start to close. With the last bit of breath he swears and lets his left arm fall, ruffling the blooded corner of paper in his half lidded fading eyes the redhead sees a glimmer of light and the world goes cold and black.

* * *

~~~~ End Chapter 2- I'm Dead?!

A/N: Omg Freed you bastard! oh well, i have a feeling that revenge will be sweet and mint-flavored. and cold.

Thank you all for reading and remember Reviews make me a better author/artist/whatever it is you call this! ^^ peace n hair grease!


	3. I'm a Devil?

**A/N: Woohoo! Third chapter in the first week! And I promise to start making them all a bit longer and more.. everything.**

 **as always, reviews are welcome input either direction (thank you for 100% positive thus far) and if you fave/follow you motivate me to do more betterer! ^^**

 **I do not own DxD, though i would like to. nor do i own any other likenesses save for the OC.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: I'm A Devil?**

 **"Wake up son."**

 _'ugh.. five more minutes..'_

 **"It's your time."** Giving in to this strange voice Kumonji's eyes open and immediately squint behind his hand. This wasn't his room, everything around him was white. White floor, white walls, white ceiling, the lamp in the corner, the desk all of them painfully plain white. In fact, the only color in the entire room was the dark skin of the man behind the desk, and even his suit and hair were white. **"Hello, finally awake I see. Of course it's probably a bit disorienting considering how you got here"** the fatherly voice said, standing up to walk around the desk and address the young man directly. Kumonji looked down and noted that (thankfully) his clothes were the usual ones he would wear: Blue jeans Grey shirt Red shoes he wasn't as dull and plain as everything else.

 **"Where..?"** he started, looking around for any doors, or windows. **"Where the hell am I?"** Kumonji looked at the older man and was puzzled when he started laughing.

 **"Rather fine choice of phrasing, [_], but I'm afraid you're not in a 'where' exactly."**

 **" '[_]' ? I know that name.. how do I know that name?"** Kumonji asked. His head was already starting to hurt, and flashing lights in his memory only made it worse.

 **"You should know that name. It's your name, [_]."** This strange old man looks him over once and folds his arms almost impatiently. **"And now.. it's time to** _ **wake up.**_ **"**

Kumonji finds himself in his warm bed, staring at his alarm. _'Five minutes before it goes off.. man what a weird dream. First that guy with the blonde hair shoots me down, then a pale empty office with no doors..'_ Deciding that his thoughts are best dealt with on a full stomach and after a good warmup jog, he rolls to his left to get the last 3 minutes on his nice warm soft... Did his pillow always feel this soft? _**Squish squish**_ or round? or..? With untenable hesitation he cracks open one eye, and what he sees looking back at him brings both of his eyes wide open and alert. What had only seconds ago been resting against his face was a very full, firm and uncovered pair of perhaps the loveliest breasts the redhead had ever seen. _'There's no way.. I'm still dreaming.. I've lost my mind..'_ As he continued to ponder his current dilemma the bedsheets shifted and he noticed that not only was whoever was in his bed topless she also wasn't wearing any pants, and neither was he. _'The two of us in the same bed naked and I have no memory of what just happened.. this could be bad. this could be very very-'_

 **"Oh hey you're awake! Good, President was so worried when we found you that we might be too late. She left me behind to keep an eye on you."** Kumonji took a second look at her face, her adorably gentle eyes, her dark flowing hair splayed out behind her.. Wait, this was _her!_ **"It's you, I saw you the other day going into that old school building.. Wait, why are you in my bed? Why are you naked? Why am** _ **I**_ **naked?"** rather unceremoniously he lifts the covers to see if what he thought happened happened, but everything seems about as normal as a teenage boy in bed with a woman can seem. Instead of a sigh of relief he was rewarded with a nosebleed at the sight of her full frontal nudity being hidden only just by her hair, which she seems to pay no mind to.

 **"Umm.. h-here"** he hands her the red blanket he has laying on the top of his bed so she can cover up, but she grabs his hands delicately and smiles at him, sitting the both of them up. His heart was pounding in his ears, his face couldn't get much brighter red and the nosebleed he was currently experiencing threatened to erupt like a geyser at any moment. Whatever happened between them last night, maybe..

 **-click-** Ku! Time to get up, or you won't be able to jog to- _**'And in comes little sister..'**_ Teiya Tokumatsu, only one year behind Kumonji. Spitting image of their mother, and more gossipy as well it was her job to make Kumonji's life hell. She could be sweet, but walking in on the scene as it took place all she could do was wiggle her eyebrows and back out slowly, eagerly deciding how best to extort her older brother with the information at hand. **"Oh** _ **MOOOOOOOM!**_ **"**

The downstairs area erupted with the sound of two women discussing what was seen, what was unseen and what may have transpired. **"ugh.. great. My sister can't keep her mouth shut and my mom's a total perv. The rest of this day might suck fat ones. hmm?"** Looking up as the beautiful and mysterious visitor steps out of bed he quickly turns to face the wall and makes a note to clear his head and his bedsheets later.

 **"Aww you didn't want to peek?"** she says with a giggle, dressing in her usual school attire. **"I'm glad you're okay, how about a quick breakfast and we get going? Can't be arriving late at school with a mysterious girl now can you?"**

 _'How did this happen again?'_ he thinks as the pair of them arrive, Kumonji being the gentleman and carrying her books with as sincere a smile as he can muster. She's definitely cute and has a bubbly personality, at least from what he could read about her. And hey, If this meant that they were going out then he could learn to live with it. The troubling thing was all of the glaring looks Kumonji was getting from the guys who were leering longingly at her and the wailing of girls who were jealous of her for taking "their To-kun" for herself. Thankfully, the attention was drawn away from them as Issei arrived with Miss Gremory and they parted ways.

In the hallway Issei tries to tell Matsuda and Motohama that he did, in fact, have a girlfriend the last few days only for them to claim that he never did. In fact, nobody remembers seeing Issei with any girl that matches the description he gives. **"Come on guys, look I'll just call Yuuma and.. wait.. her number isn't here in my phone!"** Alarms start going off in Kumonji's head. Issei definitely introduced them all to a girl named Yuuma, and he texted Cloud every few hours how their date was going. Something was up, _'but for now it's best to just play along'_.

 **"Guys, relax. i believe Issei."** Kumonji said. Before Issei can let his relief grow, Kumonji grabs his left arm by the wrist and raises his hand. **"Hi there Yuuma, good to see you again ^^ did our little perv Issei tell you to walk around naked?"** To Issei's dismay they all start laughing before Motohama brings up an invite for them all to watch the new H movie at his place that night, which Kumonji passes on and walks away.

The rest of class that day is dull and boring, as is the rest of the night save for Kumonji's mom and sister giving him the third degree and grinning lecherously at "what a depraved and horndog of a son" he had become. He only heaved a sigh and headed up to bed only to find himself too energetic to sleep. _'Weird..'_ as he contemplates this newfound energy he decides a late night workout and plenty of tea will help calm him. He decides that he needs a quick knockout and sets his bowflex to what would normally be his high weight low rep set, only to find that it barely feels like there's anything there. After shaking it off and dismissing it as having a good day of improvement he has his tea meditates for an hour and gets to bed at two in the morning.

The weekend is more of the same. His mornings are brutal, so much so that he actually drinks coffee which he had previously deemed too bitter. Afternoons were spent reading through the new comics which he went to pick up after the owner told him that he had been lucky enough to get the last copy. He once caught himself reading in the dark. **"Strange, I never even noticed the lights getting darker.."**

 _ **Monday, end of school**_

Kiba Yuuto, touted as one of the most handsome and popular boys in the whole school had just walked in and sent Issei and Kumonji groaning at the fangirlgasm happening all around them. That is, until he stopped in front of Issei's desk and looked between the two of them. **"Hyoudo Issei and Tokumatsu Kumonji right? Come with me please, our club President Miss Rias wants to speak with you both."** The two look at each other in a puzzled manner and pack up to follow the polite blonde out to the older club building.

Issei turns to Kumonji as if looking for an explanation **"What do you think Miss Gremory wants with the two of us? Maybe she's secretly a school pimp and wants our junk on the daily!"** Issei half-shouts, already filling his mind with perverse thoughts of Rias and a group of her playtoys all lined up to meet them and do lewd things. Cloud and Kiba however merely sweatdrop at his antics and share a look of disappointment. **"Yeah right Issei, it's more likely that Rias is a leader of a satanist cult and wants us to join her legion of the undead,"** the redhead quips. Kiba noticably stumbles and deadpans, trying so hard to keep his cool at the last remark. Once inside the well furnished office, Issei looks around at the decor and takes a seat opposite a cute short woman with silvery hair and a neko charm on her bangs. Kumonji however looks around only for a moment before looking down at the coffee table in the middle of the room.

 **"Huh.. sweet chess board. Shame that so many pieces are missing."** In fact that was an understatement, the white pieces were all cleared off and lined up to one side. The opposing pieces, all red with gold trim, were scattered about. The only red pieces on the board at current were the King, Queen, one knight, one bishop, and one rook advanced halfway across the board, all scattered. At the edge of the board in starting position was a pawn and a rook behind the pawn. _'What kind of strategy leaves the rook and pawn at start position? Or more accurately, why did the rook and pawn never start?'_

Kumonji is drawn out of his musings by the sound of a shower shutting off, followed by the gorgeous woman he woke up with walking out and taking a position by the desk. Before he could ask what she was doing here, Rias came out of the shower area fully dressed and drying her hair. **"Ah perfect. Now that we're all here, I'd like to introduce our newest members of the Occult Research Club. But really, the name of the club is just a front. In truth, every single person in this room including you two.. is a devil."**

 **"...** _ **WHAT?!"**_

* * *

 _ **End Chapter 3  
**_


	4. I Have A Sacred Gear

Well Ladies Gents and Miscreants, here's the next chapter in our hero's epic saga. I'm sorry it took so long compared to the other chapters but long story short internet costs money :(

Anywheese, big Thank You to everyone who's still reading this and faving, following, and or reviewing. You guys keep me going. So this chapter is all about Kumonji and Issei's transition into Devilhood. Also, any easter eggs and crossovers are just that. This story will remain almost entirely strict to DxD with a side mission here and there from other sources. See if you can spot em all in this and future chapters! K thx bai!

 **I wish I owned DxD and any other elements besides Kumonji. But I'm only human.. or devil.**

 **"...WHAT?!"** both Issei and Kumonji shouted in unison. Rias just stood there with the same smile on her face that was there before she told the pair of them about the true nature of the ORC.

 **"You heard me. The Occult Research Club and all of its members are devils, as are some other classmates you may or may not have realized."** Rias explained. At that particular moment Kumonji felt a tinge in his chest. Annoying though she may be, Teiya couldn't possibly.. No, she was out with friends when he had died, he remembered her sending a text that said she was on the way home. As he pondered this he managed to pay attention to the end of Rias' explanation of the difference between angels, fallen angels, and devils.

 **"So let me see if I have this right, we as humans were killed but you decided to bring us back to life as servents to your household. Now we're devils and more or less reincarnated in sturdier bodies that allow us to fully serve the Gremory House in any way you say until we die or we're freed, is that about right?"**

 **"More or less,"** the apparent House Master replied with a nod. Issei seemed lost at first but it all clicked into place. Except..

Issei raised his hand looking slightly confused. **"Er.. excuse me President but how do I know you aren't lying to us or something? I mean if we died wouldn't someone have noticed or something?"**

 **"If you don't believe me, ask Yuuma."** From the desk a small file full of photos of Issei and Yuuma on their date plopped in front of him on the table. Issei noticably cringed and reflexively grasped at the area where he was stabbed.

 **"I remembered her too Issei"** Kumonji broke the silence. Issei looked over at him incredulous, then angry. **"I knew you and her had been together but since nobody else knew or remembered I thought it would be better to investigate before I said anything."**

 **"She was actually a Fallen Angel, sent to kill you because of the power that lay dormant inside you. You, Issei, and Kumonji as well possess a Sacred Gear: a powerful artifact given to very few chosen individuals to keep the balance between Angels Devils and Fallen Angels. Which brings us to our next lesson."** Kiba and the silverette stood and moved the sofas apart far enough to create room. Rias stood in front of Issei with her arms folded. **"Bring out your Sacred Gear, focus all of your energy on the part of your body that feels most powerful."**

 **"Uh well okay but with everyone watching it'll be kinda awk-"** _ **Blam!**_ Kumonji's knuckles to the back of the Perv's head sent him face first to the floor. After recovering and grumbling several choice obscenities at his best friend Issei took his stance, legs apart arms at his side. **"Ka-me-ha-me-HA!"** A brilliant burst of light later and his left arm was ensconced in a red elbow-length gauntlet adorned with a shining green gem at the back of the palm.

 **"That's your sacred gear, the Boosted Gear of the Red Dragon. Not bad, and on your first try no less."** She smiled and turned to Kumonji as Issei tested out the feel and weight of his new power. **"Your turn K"**

 **"Sure what the hell I'll give it a shot,"** the redhead shot back slightly pessimisticly. He remembered once watching a Mixed Martial Artist take a stance before utterly annihilating a guy and wondering where he'd seen the stance before. Deciding to give it a go he brought his wrists up to cross in front of his chest and threw his hands down and elbows back. This time he wasn't blinded by the blue light that encircled him.

When it faded, he looked down and saw his hands were covered in a dull grey metal that conformed to his features. Not only that, a solid plate under three raised bars covered the back of his forearms, another on the outside of his triceps and shoulders. As he turned to examine the new gear he could feel two bars leading behind his shoulders to meet at a plated spinal covering that wrapped over his ribs descended to his outer hips and stopped halfway down his thighs.

 **"Whoa!"** Issei exclaimed **"That's the exoskeleton from Weapon X! I knew you were a comic book nerd but.."**

 **"I** _ **will**_ **hit you Issei.."** Kumonji smiled back, casting his best friend an ominous smile. As he moved around a little he could feel that the armor was conformed as tightly as possible and left as much range of motion as such a thing would allow. **"But this thing should weigh half a ton, even if it's scaled back this much.."** he said to himself, just loud enough nobody could hear it.

Rias just clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. **"I believe introductions are in order. My name is Rias Gremory, the leader of this group, and I am a devil."** Behind her back two batlike wings emerged frightening Issei. Kumonji at this point was beyond the shock factor and just thought it was cool.

The dark haired woman who had slept in Kumonji's bed with him stepped up. **"My name is-"**

 **"Himejima Akeno.."** Kumonji said out loud, not realizing what he said or how he knew what her name was. However as soon as he realized that he had said it he quickly bowed **"s-sorry."**

 **"It's okay. How did you know though?"** the woman known as Akeno asked.

 **"I- I don't know how I know. I just.. knew, I guess."** the redhead blushed. _'Great, now she probably thinks I was stalking her or something. Perfect, now I sound just like Issei...'_ Mental facepalm aside, Akeno continued.

 **"Right. I'm Himejima Akeno and I'm a devil. I hope we get along"** Her wings unfold behind her as well, though with her being in the darker part of the room they're harder to see clearly.

 **"Kiba Yuuto, At your service. I too am a devil."** The blond quips and opens his wings with a sweet smile.

 **"Koneko Toujou. If you perv on me I'll kill you"** she says while staring right at Issei with a stony face. It's hard to tell if she's sincere but as she shows her wings the point becomes moot.

Issei's wings shoot out from behind him without him knowing what was happening, causing him to freak out for a moment.

 **"...Hey Issei. Tell me something, did President Rias heal you herself?"** Kumonji asked, remembering the morning he had with Akeno. _'I think it's safe to assume he went through more or less the same as I did. Him in close proximity with a woman in bed.. there's no way he restrained himself..'_

 **"Well yeah why do you-"** _ **WHOMP!**_ With a little careful aiming Kumonji's wings shot out and clipped Issei in the back of the head, again sending him to the floor face first as the rest of the peerage deadpanned at their dynamic. **"..you perv."**

Koneko's expression never changed throughout the exchange. **"I like him already."**

While Rias Kiba and Koneko were discussing the details of his sacred gear with Issei, Kumonji took advantage of the pause to approach Akeno about their.. encounter.

 **"Himejima-senpai?"**

 **"Just Akeno is fine. We are gonna be working together now, you're like part of our little family."**

 **"Er- okay I guess. About the other day when you woke up in my bed.."** Both of their cheeks went a bit pink at the memory, but Akeno smiled and headed off his train of thought.

 **"It's fine, becoming a devil is strange and confusing. It was rather nice of you to let me stay over for breakfast though, and your family is so sweet and interesting."**

 **"Yeah okay but-"**

 **"And you have a lovely home too."**

 **"Miss Himejima.."**

 **"I have to say it was a very restful sleep too."**

 **"Excuse me, but I'm trying to ask if we had sex."** Kumonji realized that he said that a little too loudly, everyone now staring at the two of them. Akeno's face is one of shock, and a mild amount of hurt, though she shakes it off and puts on that grin of serenity again. _'aaand now I look_ and _sound like an ass.. way to go kid.'_

 **"No, we didn't do it. I'm still a virgin."**

 **"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to.. *sigh* I'm just gonna go sit over there quietly."** Kumonji takes a seat and hangs his head at his first impression. Issei scoots in closer with a perverted monkey face while Koneko debates whether she should change her mind about the new redhead. Kiba tries to comfort the embarrassed newbie, and Akeno and Rias chat quietly in the corner. After several minutes Rias steps up again and addresses the two new recruits.

 **"As you may or may not be aware we devils also have duties to perform outside of fighting Angels and Fallen Angels. One of these is to answer summons from those who want their wishes granted, within reason. Since you two are new, I'll be sending you on easy jobs this time."** A large red magic circle appears on the floor and starts glowing as Akeno prepares it.

 **"Ready to go!"**

 **"Alright, Issei you first."** Rias says gesturing to the large insignia.

 **"Hell yeah!"** Issei steps up enthusiastically and focuses his energies. The light envelops him **"Hey what's up I'm the devil you summoned what can I do for-"** Issei stops as everyone in the ORC club room sweatdrops at his lack of abilities.

 **"It seems you're still not strong enough to make the jump on your own. You'll have to get to your summon another way."**

 **"There's a bicycle outside if you want to use it,"** Kiba offers. ( **A/N** Oak: this isn't the time to use that)

 **"Awww man that blows! What kinda devil shows up on a bicycle?"** Issei whines, much to everyone's satire. To make things worse everyone pointed right back at him, which made the depressing situation that much worse. Someone suggested he fly, but not having tested his wings that was quickly ruled out as well. **"Okay Kumonji why don't you try it then smartass?"**

 **"My pleasure."** Stepping into the circle he cleared his head, followed the flow of the magical energy, and let his energy burst from within. Blinking once he shook his head, looking around to see a myriad of computer screens and a shadowy silhouette of a woman with braids and glasses.

End chapter!

A/N I know, cliffhangers. But most of you already know who it is anyway. If you don't then you'll have to wait and see. Next chapter will also have the first elements of crossover, but like I keep saying the crossovers are secondary.

As always reviews, input, swearing; as long as it's constructive criticism or praise (that I don't deserve) I love hearing what i'm doing right and what i'm doing wrong, as well as where you think the story is going or where it should go. Peace n Hair Grease!


	5. I've Made a Contract

**H** ey everyone! Newest chapter right here, sorry again for taking forever.

Thanks again for reading and reviewing and all the follows and faves. So this is the beginning of where FTO will diverge from Outsider chronicles if you were reading that. Also, yes Dis I sent Kumonji to Maison Izumo but there's a good reason for it I promise. There will be one or two more easter eggs for you to find somewhere down the road but no spoilers.

Anyways, let the fun begin!

 **Do I look like I own DxD? I don't, only Kumonji. No rights reserved.**

Chapter 4: I'm working hard

 **"Hey there. Name's Tokumatsu Kumonji, a devil here for your desires."** The redhead bowed politely, offering a smile to the bespectacled woman sitting at her computers. She nodded and smiled back in kind, offering him a seat.

 **"Well I** _ **was**_ **expecting Kiba as per usual, but if you play video games I think I can be okay with this."** She seems rather sweet and innocent. Rather, she did until her glasses reflected the glaring screens and her smile suggested video games weren't the only thing on her mind.

 **"As flattered as I am, Matsu, I'm afraid I can't sleep with you. Not to mention I'm not the kind of guy who would just be a booty call at will."** He scratches the back of his head as he recalls his embarrassing outburst with Akeno only moments ago.

 **"Hey how did you know my name?"** Matsu asks, a bit confused. **"Usually I'm the one with data on everyone else, not the other way around.** _ ***gasp!***_ **You're from MBI aren't you! YOU WON'T TAKE ME ALIVE!"** At this she swings her only weapon: the pillow from the futon she was sitting on. As it beats uselessly against him he merely takes a calming breath and stops her gently.

 **"I'm not from this MBI and if I were why would I even care, I'm a devil. As for how I know your name I really don't know. It just kinda popped in my head when I saw you."** _'In fact, that's the second time that's happened today. Something's up, I should really tell someone.'_ Before the train of thought could go any further he felt something large and somewhat heavy plonk into his lap. At first glance it was like a motorcycle helmet, but there were wires and cables going up the back. **"VRG helmet? Wait, this must cost a small fortune.. how do you..? Nevermind. You summoned me, so your wish is my command."**

A quick demo of how to use a VR Helmet later, the two of them are at the console loading an action-adventure Beta. **"Sodo- Aato On-line? What's Sword Art Online?"**

 **"Well let's just say a certain Someone was able to hack her way onto the list of Beta Testers for this all new rad state-of-the art VR game set to release in the next couple years. And lucky you today's my first day so I'm getting input from a total noob as a bonus!"** Matsu pumped her fist in the air as Kumonji sweatdropped. Sure he wasn't great at regular video games but this was his first time trying anything like this. They both put on their helmets and designed their respective avatars. Kumonji was surprised at the level of detail this game put up for a beta, since all of the demo's he's ever played were relatively crap compared to the real game. He decided to go through the tutorial, thankfully checking his stats and equipment.

 **"Huh? What's this? 'Weapon X Adaptive Adamantium armor' huh?"** The moment he equips it his Sacred Gear activates and encases him in its usual form. A little gauge pops up showing his default stats and the boost from his equipment. A shrill squeek from causes him to jump.

 **"OHMIGOSH That's a Rare Armor that doubles defense and adapts to survive almost any situation! *gasp* and look you already have a high attack rate and-"** she continues to list off several details, causing him to tune her out. He just sits and waits for her list to conclude, meditating all the while. _'Why do I feel like I've been here before as well?'_ His mind starts tracing back, back.. Deeper and deeper into his own subconscience he falls until he finds himself in the same white room from before.

 _'What am I doing here again?'_

 **"Good question. Though, I think the answer is best revealed to you by yourself."** the ominous man with the deep voice responded, appearing from seemingly nowhere. **"To tell you the truth I was rather hoping to let you live out the rest of your life before telling you exactly why all of these things seem so normal and familiar. I guess you should know though, if you're ready of course."**

 **"..Alright old man I'll bite. First question, who are you?"**

 **"Let's just say, I work for people who collect people. People who arrive before they're supposed to. People like you."** The gentleman replies with a curt smile, like a cat that dares you to prove it ate the bird.

 **"That's fairly evasive and vague and gives me nothing to work with at all. Alright then, you want me to know why all of this is so familiar so tell me."**

 **"You've been here before, but you're living it for the first time. Several planes of existence are converging around you simply because of an action you did in a** _ **previous life.**_ **"**

Matsu shakes him gently, **"Hey, you okay? I'm sorry I was rambling I just needed to-"**

 **"It's fine, really. I shouldn't have dozed off on you. Shall we get started?"** With a smile the two of them set off, testing out the gaming mechanics and, in Kumonji's case, using the mental training to prepare for what may be out in the real world, like that blond bastard Freed. After they log out, each having ground out levels to make 6 on their first day, Kumonji shakes his head and presses his eyes with his fingers. Sometimes having super sensitive devil vision really sucked.

 **"Kumonji, right? Here, take this and plug it into your phone or laptop later okay? It'll be good I promise."** Matsu presents him with a micro sd card, smiling brightly. **"As my token for filling the contract. Usually I just give Kibacakes an upgraded cellphone or a burned cd or something, but I think you'll like this."**

 **"It isn't porn is it? Or something creepy?"** He said with a deadpan. If that were the case, Issei must never find this or rumor would spread that even Cloud the righteous could be corrupted.

Of course Matsu replied with a lecherous grin, **"I won't say, you have to find out when you're all by yourself."**

Waving goodbye Kumonji pocketed the miniature device and made his way back to the club room, deciding it might be okay to try flying since it was well past dark and nobody was around to see. He climbed his way up to the nearest roof, checked to see that the coast was clear, and spread his wings to fly off in the night.

An hour of flying high and enjoying the night air on his face later, the redhead divebombs into club headquarters, hooking upward at the last second to break his fall right outside the clubroom window. Strolling in and fixing his hair, he waves with a jovial smile. **" 'Sup everyone? Successful first summon."** To emphasize he holds up the little card and looks over to Kiba. **"Oh and Matsu says hi by the way. How did your mission go Issei?"** The glaring look given back to him by the out of breath brunette was sign enough that it wasn't what he had hoped.

 **"Lame. I just got into an argument with a nerd about DBZ."**

 **"..And you call me a nerd. Oh brother."** Kumonji fakes disappointment and shakes his head, but they both just laugh it off.

Rias dismisses them for the night, so Issei and Kumonji head home together, thankfully on foot as Issei still hasn't learned to fly and Kumonji was nowhere near ready to carry him. About halfway there, curiosity gets the better of the two. **"Hey 'Monji, what's the little chip for anyway? Did that chick who summoned you give you a bunch of dirty selfies? Come on man quit holding out on me."**

 **"You're absolutely incorrigible. But now that you mention it I'm curious too."** Pulling his phone and the chip out of his pocket, he contemplates for a moment whether this really is a good idea. _'Well, only one way to find out I guess.'_ As soon as it goes in a file opens itself and starts imprinting things onto his phone; contact information, an app for 3D mapping of the nearby surroundings, a document title ' ' and lastly, the phone glitches before videocalling out to a number he doesn't recognize. After only a few rings the answer comes.

 **"Matsu? What the hell did you do to my phone?"**

 **"Hiya Ku-chan! Listen I don't have a whole lot of time to explain but I feel like I can trust you, so I put a few illegal tweaks on your phone. I might need your help sometime so I wanted to have a direct line."**

Issei, having looked over his shoulder, is practically drooling at the sight. **"Aw Kumonji you lucky bastard! Nerdy, Dirty, and Curvy you've got great ta-"** _ **Smack!**_

 **"Ignore him. You could have just asked you know. But hey if it gets my contract quota up and there's a damsel in distress how can I say no? I'm assuming you want me to read those datfiles you sent me when I get home?"**

 **"Yes. And please, this has to be a secret. I'm already risking my security as it is. Make sure nobody else- especially him.. sees that."**

 **"I knew it! My man got himself a sexy secret show with Velma and a little souvenir for later!"** _ **blam!**_

 **"If you don't shut up Issei, I'll pummel you."** Pinching the bridge of his nose the redhead calms himself. **"Don't worry Matsu, I'll try and be ready if you ever need me."** A brief flashing image of her kissing a dark haired boy crosses his mind. **"And tell Minato to have confidence in himself."** She nods and hangs up, so does he.

Issei, tenderly massaging the lumps on his head where he was knocked about moments ago, turns to Kumonji with a questioning look. **"Who's Minato?"**

 **"..I have no freaking clue."** This was becoming too bizarre. He had to figure out what was going on soon, this couldn't be a coincidence.

End Chapter 4

 **A/N:** Hey! okay so you got a glimpse of the first crossover here. Yes there will be partial elements of Sekirei in this story, but mostly as filler plot.

Wonder why he's having those mental breaks? :3

Lastly, The SAO bit will only be pre-canon. I mean, one story can only go so many directions right? Not to mention that the plot of SAO is more geared toward 10 or so years from now if i recall correctly. As Always, reviews are great teaching tools, reads and faves and follows deserve cookies, maybe made by Koneko (you know who you are :) )Peace and hair grease!


	6. I'm Learning My Strength

A/N: Yahoo! Chapter 6!

So very brief apology, my job has taken a seasonal twist and now I'm up all night working and trying to sleep it off during the day so ***yawn*** please forgive me. Now, as I've said once before this story is going to diverge from Outsider Chronicles (though for lack of talent or to maintain storyline continuity there will be similarities from time to time).

Big thanks to all my supporters and everyone who is hanging in there while i work this out. Also, I'm HEAVILY debating whether to make this pie lemon meringue or maybe just key lime, so drop me a hint about what you like or don't like.

Enough stalling, ON TO THE GOODIES!

 **If I owned DxD I would be very happy. Oh well.**

The day after Matsu gave me the chip Tokumatsu Kumonji was scrolling through what should have been a long and boring text document outlining something known as the Sekirei Plan. Apparently Angels, Fallen Angels, and Devils weren't the only supernatural thing in the world. These Sekirei were actually 108 aliens with supreme power sent out to find a life partner and fight for their happiness. **"Huh.. sounds more like a Sci-Fi Romance Roleplay than a game. Still.."** 108 powerful beings fighting for love could be a problem, especially if they get persuaded to join forces with angels or devils, and especially if fallen angels can twist their perspectives to their own needs. **"I don't know why but this all seems way too familiar.."** Kumonji mused out loud, deciding to discard the thought until later. Getting up and making himself presentable, he was on his way to have dinner over at Issei's like old times. _'Hey, he's a perv but at least he's a decent enough guy that aside.'_ Just as Issei answers the door his phone starts buzzing in his pocket.

 **"Yo, Prez what's up?"**

 **"Issei, I need you to get Kumonji and come meet me downtown."** came the voice of Rias on the other end. She sounded like she had something planned, which sent a chill up Kumonji's spine. Issei however could pick up on the gravity of her words.

 **"Right here Senpai, we'll be right there."** With a nod to the brunette they hung up and headed out, Issei calling to his folks that there was some schoolwork to be done. **"What was that about I wonder? Shouldn't Rias call us to the club room?"**

 **"No idea bro, and I was dying to tell you about this cute little blonde nun I met today too."** Issei looked over for his friend but found only air. Looking up the redhead was already up in the sky gliding high overhead. The two shared half-hearted middle fingers at each other, laughing and generally giving each other a bad time the whole way.

Upon reaching the designated meet point the entire ORC waved at the two.

 **"My my, our little Kumonji is already taken to his wings and gotten used to flying. I'd expect nothing less from a servant of the Marquis of Gremmory."** Akeno held her hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle. Rias for some reason seemed to have the most devious grin on her face, a fact which puzzled the newcomers.

 **"Well I guess, ya know?"** The taller of the two said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment **"Kinda funny too because.."**

 **"Kumonji's afraid of heights. Or at least he was as long as I've known him."** Issei interjected. On instinct he flinched, but instead of getting hit he felt his friend's hand on his shoulder.

 **"Right, if I can tell you why I summoned you here then?"** Rias said, cutting off further idle chatter. **"We have orders to take out a stray. Stray devils are devils who have abandoned or killed their master to pursue their own goals. More often than not, it gets pretty ugly so prepare yourself."** She was mostly directing this at the two newbies, who stiffened slightly under her gaze and nodded.

Koneko led the way in, stopping them all just inside the atrium of a large metal building. **"It's here."**

 **"mmm what's this? New playthings just for me? Oh how fun.. I'm going to enjoy this."** the voice seemed to boom from everywhere, the dark room filled with the sound of shrill voices and the smell of something.. foul. Kumonji, normally able to stomach most smells, felt a little overwhelmed to say the least. Issei had to cover his nose for a moment as well, a fact that the rest of them smirked and mentally rolled their eyes at. In that moment, a silhouette appeared from the shadows of the room, getting clearer as it got closer. From repulsed to a nosebleed the Pervert King noted that the one they were after was an attractive topless woman. **"That's a stray devil? She looks like a late night softcore pornstar!"**

Kumonji turned his head away, a little pink in the cheeks. That is, until the rest of the Stray made itself visible. _'And back to disgusted..'_ he thought. On the upside his best friend who looked like he was about to take down the stray for all the wrong reasons was now pale and on the verge of throwing up. Kumonji could only laugh internally at the antics of the brunette, who looked like the kid who ate an old piece of candy.

 **"Stray, you have abandoned your master for your own gains. Surrender now or face the Marquis of Gremmory."** Rias proclaimed.

 **"Fuck you. I like doing what I want when I want."** With that the stray's once beautiful face grew distorted and malevolent. From her breasts two magic circles formed, arming like cannons.

 **"Listen up you two. Tonight we're going to teach you about teamwork and how we fight to keep the balance in this world. As you know, each of your fellow devils is unique. However, they also have a specific role given to each of them. Kiba!"** At that, Kiba summoned a sword from seemingly nowhere, dashing forward to start the fight. **"Each devil is known as an evil piece, and each evil piece has very special strengths and weaknesses afforded to it. Kiba is my knight, his gift lies in his speed."** Quicker than any of them could perceive, Kiba was slicing bits and pieces off the grotesque creature, namely it's two oversized claw-like arms. With a shriek and a string of choice swear words the stray began to counterattack wildly, missing every time. **"Koneko, you're up."** The silverette calmly walks in, grabbing one of the arms and swinging it over her head before using it to club the befouled devil. She turns to regard her master, only for the lower jaws of the beast to close around her.

 **"Koneko!"** the two novices shout in unison.

 **"It's alright. Koneko is my rook, her power is unrivaled strength and endurance."** At that, Koneko forces the obscene mouth wide open, breaking a few of the teeth for good measure. One solid blow to the midsection later and the stray is gasping for air.

From the corner of his eye Issei spots something lunging at Rias. Thinking quickly he summons his Sacred Gear and bats it away. Kumonji catches it as it comes at him and uses the momentum to slam it into the stray's face. **"stop hitting yourself you nasty ass Stray!"** Everyone gives an uneasy laugh at the lame joke, but A for effort on the teamwork.

Akeno steps up and lifts a single finger. **"My turn! This is gonna be fun."**

 **"Akeno is my Queen, a combination of strength from all of the other pieces, and expert at using magic. She's also hardcore into S &M." **

**"Oooh Yeah. You like that? Is it as good for you as it is for** **me"** Akeno moans, repeatedly electrocuting her victim.

Though Rias said it so casually, the raven haired beauty blushing and uttering lines that would fit any X rated film makes Issei pale and Kumonji go bright red in the face. _'Gorgeous, soft spoken, kinky, and naked in my bed.. I'm either the luckiest guy ever existed or the most unlucky.'_ The redhead's train of perverse thought is suddenly cut off when his mind's eye is called back to the chess board on the table the day that he first walked into the club room. One King, One Queen, One Knight, One Bishop, Two Rooks, One pawn..

 **"And I, Rias Gremmory, am the King, Leader of the group."** Rias quickly dispatches the rebel, turning back to address the two.

 **"um yeah so I have a question?"** Issei asks rather hesitantly, raising his hand. **"Am I something awesome like a Knight or something?"**

 **"If I remember correctly, the only pieces on the board when you first brought us in were the King, Queen, Knight, Rook, Bishop, and Pawn. Rias is the King, Akeno the Queen, Kiba the Knight, and Koneko the Rook. That leaves One bishop, one Rook, and one Pawn. Since the Bishop piece was already out of it's starting place, that just leaves.. Issei and I are a Rook and a Pawn. But which is which?"**

Rias flinches a little at the deduction that was just made, but takes it as a good sign. **"Think back to when you two had your first summons."**

The two of them do, and simultaneously come to the same conclusion. Kumonji grins victoriously, rubbing his chin stubble proudly. Issei however hangs his head in defeat **"so not fair! How come He gets to be a Rook and I'm just a lame ass pawn?"**

 **"Chill out Issei, Pawns can do some cool shit too. You'll just have to figure that out in time."**

 **"I think that's enough for tonight, I'll see you all tomorrow."** Rias dismisses them all with a wave. Akeno comes up to her side watching as they go.

 **"You're sure it's him? He's not too bad looking and all but.."**

Rias looks her best friend straight in the face and tells her, **"Trust me. I can tell he likes you."**

The queen's expression softens and she lets herself smile. Just maybe...

End of Chapter!

Oh boy, short chapter again I know, but as soon as i get more time I'll start getting more into it.

If you read, please review or else Akeno will come find you.


	7. A Light in The Dark

A/N: Allo allo everyone. Apologies for dragging my feet, but I'm still chipping away at it I promise. To all my new faves and follows you're awesome and to all my previous ones you were awesome first :P  
DxD belongs to someone else. I know, *sadface*

Chapter 7: Light in the Dark

As Kumonji walked in through the door after having dealt with that foul stray the only thoughts on his mind were "shower, dinner, bed." However, seeing his sister up at so late an hour his mind's eye was called back to the day that psycho in a priest getup gunned him down. _'Now that I think about it, Teiya's been up later than usual in the last couple weeks. She seems the same as before but.. still.'_ That thought now racing back and forth in his head he went over to the bathroom for a quick shower. Coming out in his towel he put a hand to where he was shot by that weird looking pistol and decided he needed to be certain. He dressed, draped a towel over his head lazily and walked out to grab what was left of dinner on the stove. It was still warm so maybe everyone was just running late he hoped. **"Hey Tei, mind if I sit with you?"** he proposed. Upon her shrug between bites of pork he sat and thanked her for the meal. **"Itadakimasu. So I totally spaced but how was your trip to the city with your friends? It looked like you guys hit the motherload of shopping with all the bags you brought home."** She looked over at him warily. The two of them were close but most love between them came from some kind of sibling rivalry or friction in this household. Deciding it was innocuous conversation she played along, cautiously. **"Meh, it was just the four of us so we had plenty of time to hit all the good stores. I did see a couple of our old friends there too. We all had a lot of fun, except when this creepy guy came up like a perv trying to get at me. He got kicked in the pills pretty quick. Can you believe it though? Dude was a total jerk, even talked in the third person. 'My name is..' "**

 **" 'Freed?' "** The spittake Kumonji had to avoid was legendary, passing inches by his ear and clear against the wall. The towel however was not so fortunate and flopped into the new puddle perfectly. Anime antics aside, Kumonji could see the surprise in Teiya turning to anger to the point where she shook. _'I was right.. but that would mean that she's..'_ **"Teiya. It's okay. That same day, he found me too. So I guess we both know what that means right?"**  
For once, Teiya looked concerned for her brother, then nodded solemnly. **"Mum can't know about any of this. This stays between us."** The two finished their meal in relative silence, only a furtive glance between them now and again.

The next day Kumonji decided to head back to see Matsu, just for the hell of it. As soon as he showed up he was tackled against the wall in a rather silly looking hug. **"So I'm guessing that you've been winged?"**

 **"Yup! It's the Best thing ever! I'm gonna do my very best for Minato."**

 **"Glad to hear it! ^^ And of course if you ever need a little extra oomph you've got me."** The two of them chatted for a while before deciding to get into the Beta of Sword Art again. There were only a few weeks left before mandatory recall and some other techno-junk that the redhead didn't quite understand so they decided to make the most of it. By now Kumonji discovered he fought best hand-to-hand with double caestus or a short blade that he held backhanded. A few hours later and the pair of them decided to call it quits for the day, waving goodbye as Kumonji absorbed all of the mental training he just got. _'If I keep training myself mentally like that with no physical risk I can become a better fighter in case I run into any strays or fallen angels while I'm on my own. Plus it doesn't hurt that my gaming partner is a sexy nerd girl.'_ Hey, brains and beauty never hurt anyone.

~Meanwhile, same time across town~

Issei had summoned his Sacred Gear just as Raynare told him exactly what it was that it did. She stretched her hand in front of her and summoned a spear of light, while Issei called out **"Alright Sacred Gear Double my power!"**

 _ **Boost!**_

 _ **...shlurk!**_ The light spear hits him right in the gut, burning through. Asia's hands glow as she heals him but Raynare is already on them both with another more powerful attack.

Kumonji decided to head over to the club room today simply because he had a good feeling that something good was about to-  
 **"Absolutely not. You're a member of the Gremory family now and that means you do as I say."** No doubt, that was Rias in a bit of a pissed off mood.

 **"Well maybe it's time you release me from your household then."** Issei shot back.

Deciding to get the objective story from someone who wasn't fighting, Kumonji snuck in between Kiba and Koneko. **"What happened here exactly?"**  
 **"Pervert captain over there wants to play hero to his nun friend who was captured by fallen angels."** Ah Koneko, ever stoic and yet cute when she's indulging in sweets like she really doesn't give a damn. Kiba on the other hand was biting his fingernails into his palms though the friendly smile never wavered so much as once. Kumonji looked over at Akeno who was just watching her master lay out the basic facts in front of her pawn and waved. _'I still have no idea how to apologize to her or make things right. Why do I always jump to conclusions.. *sigh*'_ He got up and started to walk over but Akeno and Rias suddenly announced that they were on their way somewhere. **"And remember Issei,"** Rias said as more of an afterthought **"Even if you're promoted, a single devil on their own cannot stand up to a fallen one."**

Just like that they were gone, and Issei turned to storm out of the room. **"So, you're going after her anyway?"** Kiba supplied.

 **"Yup"**

 **"Even though Prez told you not to.."** Koneko added.

 **"Yeah.."**

 **"To protect someone you care about."** Kumonji chimed.

 **"Yeah, so don't try and stop me."** Kiba grabbed his sword, Kumonji grabbed his black bandana and tied it around his forehead, Koneko stood up and took point.

 **"Weren't you listening? Prez said you get in that church and you're promoted. But you can't do it alone so we're going with you."**

Upon finding the church Koneko walked up the front steps and kicked the door in. **"No need to be sneaky they know we're here."**

 **"...was that before or after your 'redecoration?' "** Any further snide remarks (or slap to the face by a cute silverette neko) were cut off by a single figure in the dark walking out to the podium clapping. At first it looked like he was about to launch into some speech about the futility of their actions or the inferiority of devils blah blah rant of an evil madman, but one look at the redheaded rook in the back and the two of them were floored.

 **"It's you!?"** they both cried in unison. Kumonji stepped up first. **"You killed me you bastard, and for that I oughta rip your head off. But you killed my sister too, and for that.."** the silver exoskeleton of his Sacred Gear formed over him all at once. The reinforcing bar on the back of his left hand extended and sharpened into a blade jutting out past his fingertips, which he held up to flip Freed the bird. **"For that, I'm gonna shove this knife up your ass!"**

The Rook dashes in, getting feet from the priest only to swerve when that same stupid pistol comes out. Thankfully Kiba took advantage and used the cover to get in close and get a glancing slash on his shoulder and cheek. Freed, far from exasperated lolled out his tongue and licked up a droplet from his cheek, causing the four of them to get the shivers. **"Fucking creep."** From the opposite side Koneko had been flinging pews like baseballs at him, most getting sliced or shot to splinters. Standing back for a minute, Kumonji had to laugh a little, causing Issei to turn to him. **"What's so damn funny?"**

The rook replied by pointing his finger like a gun and mock-firing every time Koneko threw something. **"Pew pew pewpewpewpew"** Joking aside, he started doing the same, noting that under normal circumstances this would make almost no sense. But hey, he's a devil so to hell with sense.

Kiba and Freed clashed swords, the Holy Eraser ruining his close quarters weapon. Issei having held back long enough promoted himself to a rook as well. **"The rook is a tank, with untennable defense and awesome power."** Kumonji and Koneko both grabbed his arms and heaved him at the priest. Like a shot out of a cannon he barreled at Freed, who unloaded a series of exorcist bullets only for them to bounce off Issei's rook defense like rubber. **"And did I mention that it kicks ass?"** Feet met face met podium, and the latter two were broken instantly. Freed got up swearing and holding his stinging jaw, vowing to come back and kick all of their asses before setting off a flashbang and pussing out the back door. Clearing the rest of the debris Koneko motioned for them all to head downstairs, to find a young blonde chained to a cross.

 **"Asia!"** Issei ran in, Kiba took his left side Koneko the right and Kumonji right by his side to clear a path. Raynare had in her hands what appeared to be a glowing green ball of light with something inside it. All around them exorcists swarmed, putting up enough resistance to keep the four occupied. **"Okay you know, what, fuck this."** Kumonji grabbed Kiba by the ankle and spun him in a wide berth, catching the surrounding enemies off guard enough to cut them down. Seizing on the opportunity Issei made it all the way to Asia while the rest kept everyone busy. Kumonji ducked just in time for Issei to sail overhead with Asia in his arms, Raynare shortly behind. Timing it just right he landed an elbow square to her gut, then another in the center of her back between her wings which, rather to his surprise sent her already skimpy top to shreds. Red face aside, he doubled back to back up the other two as best as he could. **"When we get out of this you two are SO teaching me how to fight properly."** The knight and silverette rook looked over at the redhead and smiled. Shortly after the last of the enemy was dispatched they all headed up to see Rias gesturing for them to meet up in the main area.

Issei had his back turned to Raynare as Rias.. got rid of her.

 **"Hard core.."** Kumonji stated in awe.

A few moments later saw them all standing over Asia as she was being brought back in the same ritual that saved Issei and Kumonji.  
 **"Looks like we're getting a new member of the family"** Akeno said with a smile. Kumonji walked over and bowed to her, **"About the other day, my little outburst. I'm really sorry about what I was insinuating, or how poorly I handled the matter."**

To her credit the Queen looked a bit surprised for a moment, only to tilt his head up gently. **"You're still so new to this world I couldn't hold it against you for being surprised. Just remember to keep yourself in check from now on okay?"**

 **"O-of course."** The look on his face said it all; relief and joy, and a glimmer of.. hope? _'At least now she probably doesn't think I'm a TOTAL ass.. It's a start.'_

~~  
End of Chapter 7  
A/N: Looks like some of Issei's perv habits have rubbed off on Kumonji. Meh, what can you do? Still on the fence about Lemon or non-lemon so input please cause I'd prefer not to upset anyone. As always, reviews are wonderful and will get you cake from Asia but your reads keep me happy so thanks for burning your eyeballs on my words ^^


	8. Bitter Work and Helping Hands

Two Chapters in a week? WhaaaaaaT? So like I promised I'm trying to pick up the pace a little, as well as making the chapters a wee bit longer. Chances are I'll end up going back and revising these chapters sometime down the road but for now bear with me okay?

 **If only I owned DxD (or if they owned me. That's cool too.)**

 **Chapter 8: Bitter Work and Helping Hands**

As per usual Issei was hard at work trying to meet his quota for contracts and every single time falling short. Kumonji, Kiba, and Koneko had all fulfilled their duties for the week with 5, 8, and 9 respectively and were enjoying tea made by Asia while Rias lectured the poor pawn on his lack of ability for the nth time since he was made a devil. At the moment Rias was suggesting a new workout regiment starting at 5 am the next morning, a thought that made the rook chuckle when Issei murmured his protests.

 **"Prez, if you like I can join you and Issei. After all strength training with a rook is bound to at least give him some power, nee?"** The redhead smiled away the dirty look his best friend was sending at him. The perv needed the workout, and who better than a neighboring buddy to train more than just the muscles in his left arm?

 **"That's a great idea Kumonji, we'll all meet up at Issei's bright and early. And I may need a favor as well if you don't mind."** Rias glanced over to Asia. Issei turned and headed out for flyer duty, another task he was behind on. **"Asia, about your current sleeping arrangements..."**

The next day at 4:45 Issei grumbled downstairs in a grey tracksuit, answering the door for the Rook first and a couple minutes afterward Rias herself. They started off with a run to get the novice's endurance up, Rias on bike and Kumonji jogging backwards in front of the two of them. Needless to say, Issei wasn't having a good first day which was compounded when they switched to stretching him out.

 **"Geez bud, you're about as limber as dry soba noodles"** Kumonji quipped. **"I don't even mean that as a joke, flexibility keeps you from cramping up in the middle of the fight, not to mention increasing bloodflow."**

Rias nodded sagely, helping Issei bend pull and twist this way and that. Issei had that perverted monkey look on his face and even Kumonji rolled his eyes while trying to keep the flush out of his cheeks. After limbering up, Rias looked at her watch and smiled at the rook. **"About that favor, would you be able to go take care of it right about now?"**

 **"Of course Rias-senpai. Try not to break him while I'm gone, okay? His parents would kill me.."** With a wave Kumonji headed out to collect Asia and her boxes of possessions she had been packing all night last night. Seeing her sound asleep on the couch he just left a little note for her to visit the park where the two were working out and gathered everything in one large armful. Taking it all back to the Hyoudo house was no problem, the only struggle was seeing where he was going, but that wasn't a big deal. Afterward he showered up and got ready for class, all the while using his enhanced hearing to listen to his parents embarrass him in front of Asia as the porn freak he was. _'Well old friend she was bound to find out eventually. Even so I can tell she likes you.'_

Classes went by pretty well, Issei stealing glances at the blonde whenever he thought he could get away with it. That evening, while discussing whether or not to send Asia out on her first contract Kumonji and Koneko shared a laugh when Akeno described Asia's bishop magic as almost as powerful as her own. Issei's pained expression coupled with Asia's sympathetic one was almost too much. A couple hours later when Issei returned his face was that of horrified shock and slight disgust, which became worse as he recounted the story of the "Magical Girl" on steroids he just met. **"But at least you finished the job, right?"** The pawn was not amused in the slightest.

The next day both Issei and Rias had set out for a mission together, and everyone else in the club room had tea. **"He's a little hopeless right now isn't he?"** Kumonji suggested, knowing his friend probably wouldn't keep focus as long as Rias was with him.

 **"Yup." "Unfortunately." "Seems that way."**

Sighing at the misfortune of the clueless brunette, they all took a sip of tea and collectively decided to wait it out until the next day, each dismissing themselves to their own summons or home until it was just Akeno and Kumonji. The air between them was a bit thick with tension, neither one sure how to break the silence. Finally Kumonji set his cup down, stood up and offered his hand. **"It's getting a bit late, would it be alright if I walked you home?"**

Akeno's smile widened just so and she took his hand, rising up and setting off side by side. All the way they made small talk, each feeling steadily more comfortable. _'She's really sweet. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Man, I was a total dickwad when we first met.'_ **"So, how exactly did you come to be a devil anyway Akeno-san?"** Just like that she stopped in her tracks and looked a bit glum. **"er.. that's obviously a tender topic so let's just forget I said anything."** Akeno looked up at him with a gentle nod but the air had been dampened already, so the last kilometer was spent in companionable silence again. **"Hey, um.. I'm sorry I keep saying the wrong things in front of you. I swear I don't do it on purpose. Do you think maybe we could try this again over coffee some time?"**

 **"I think I'd like that. Good night, To-Kouhai."**

The Redhead tried to contain himself but found he was literally walking on air all the way home, abuzz with the idea of getting a real shot with her.

The next day Kumonji decided to sleep in, get in a quick workout and head to the clubroom. Everyone else was just arriving as well, save Issei and Rias. Kiba was the first to open the door for everyone, finding Rias inside with her pawn.

 **"Good evening everyone."**

 **"What it do?"** Koneko added.

 **"Suuuuuuuup?"** Kumonji said, smirking as Issei stood frozen.

Akeno crept up from behind Issei to see if he was alright. **"You look like you just got kicked in the balls hun."**

 **"It sure feels like it."**

 **"What, did someone make boobs illegal or something?"** Kumonji smirked, knowing that would get a reaction.

 **"DON'T FUCK WITH ME MAN!"** Yup, just the reaction he expected from Issei. Funny all the same. From nowhere, Rias pulled the depressed brunet into a hug, making everyone's eyes widen. The same thought was on everyone's mind now: Rias and Issei? Maybe.. just maybe..

It was a few days later that Rias called the three rookies into the clubroom to announce their days of flyer passing may be over. **"Wait, what?"** the three of them said in unison.

 **"You heard me. Normally we leave busy work like that to our familiars, and it may just be time that you three get some of your own."**

 **"I'll say again.. what?"** The rook seemed a bit dumbfounded but Issei and Asia could only think about a new little friend to help out with everyday things.

Rias was first to summon her familiar, a little bat that became the same woman who had given Issei and Kumonji their flyers. Akeno and her little Oni, Koneko and her white cat Shiro who swiped a playful paw at Asia who pet her in return. Kiba didn't summon his but Issei just waved it off as they gave each other crap. In the end, the three newbies were excited beyond belief. Until of course there was a knock at the door and in filed the Student Council. At first Kumonji was confused until he saw Teiya walking in. **"Oh I see now! Heya sis"** He gave his sister a two-fingered wave but she just rolled her eyes and smirked. **"Such a dork Bro."**

 **"Sona what can I do for you?"**

 **"Nothing Rias, just here to congratulate you on your new servants."**

 **"Hold on, how does she know about...?"**

 **"Issei you dolt, Isn't it obvious she's obviously a devil master as well. Miss Sona thank you for taking care of my sister."**

Akeno leaned over to them and whispered **"Actually her real name is Sitri and she's next in line to a very powerful devil family."**

After Saji and Issei had their little spat about who's the better pawn Rias introduced Asia as her bishop and Kumonji as the rook.

 **"Hey Teiya just out of curiousity where did you end up?"**

 **"I'm a Rook just like you. Guess we have strong blood don't we?"**

 **"Back to the topic at hand Sona, we were just on our way to meet the Familiar Master, was there something you needed?"**

 **"Actually yes, I'm afraid we were just about to do the same and since he only takes one group per month it would seem we have a problem. How to resolve it I wonder?"**

Kumonji saw this opportunity to gain the upper hand. **"If I may, I think a little friendly competition might solve this. Say a round of Dodgeball in the gym after school?"**

 **"That sounds like a great idea."** Sona acquiesced. **"See you all there, tomorrow evening. Winner gets to go this month loser waits til next month."**

On the night of the match everyone was gathered from House Gremory to stretch warm up, Issei getting perverse thoughts at the sight of Akeno pushing Asia to stretch further and further. _'Not that I'm much better..'_ Kumonji thought to himself as he turned his head to wipe the blood from his nose. The perverse fantasies came to a rather abrupt end when Koneko nearly snapped the two boys in half, leaving them rather tender as they got up. When they did though, Issei handed out homemade team headbands, all white except for Kumonji who prefered black. **"Aw dude sweet, thanks! You even made mine black, that's bad ass!"**

Team Sitri showed up looking confident, and after setting a few rules about no magic the match began. Balls flew left right and center, deflecting off other balls or glancing off of players. The pace was quick, each side losing team members only to have them be brought back seconds later. Issei was barely having luck dodging, Asia mostly using the one ball she held onto as a shield, Kiba deftly maneuvering and trying to outspeed the opposing knight in a dance of throwing and dodging at the same time. Kumonji and Teiya had locked eyes since the start. When conventional throws didn't work things got tricky, bouncing shots off walls and even the ceiling. As things got more heated the rule of no magic got tossed out the window, each evil piece using their abilities to double or even triple team on players. The deadlock held, right up to the point that Kumonji tossed a hard ricochet off the head of one Sitri bishop and into the back of Teiya's head, who catapulted her shot in surprise. Kumonji's eyes widened and he dropped onto his knees bent over backwards. The shot just missed his face, and he watched as the rook-powered throw connected with Issei's groin with a deafening crunch sound that caused every man in the room to squirm and involuntarily cover themselves. **"..Man down. or.. woman down at this point."** Issei, doubled over in pain could only flip Kumonji off in response.

After Asia gave Issei's pride a quick healing he wobbled his way out of the line of fire, signalling everyone else to continue without him.

 **"Come on everyone we have a game to finish!"** Rias pumped her fist

 **"For Issei's Manbits"**

 **"For his One eyed snake."**

 **"For his sack."**

 **"For Issei's banger and mash."**

At once, everyone left on Team Gremory grabbed a ball and hucked it, a combined effort that in a single move won the game for them. A point of pride was getting Koneko to bounce her shot off of Kiba's to make it move even faster and land an equally painful blow to Saji's sausage omelette. The group all went back to the club room to celebrate a hard earned victory and decided that tonight would be the night they celebrated by getting the three newest members their familiars.

And so, on the night of the full moon, the ORC all teleported to a clearing in what appeared to be a rather bleak looking forest. The three jumped as an unusually dressed guy obsessed with speaking in rhymes gave them a quick rundown of the infinite possibilities of familiars. Their first stop was the lake where sprites could be found, and upon seeing that sprites look less Zelda-esque and more like Terry Crews in a dress Issei looked about to hurl. **"Aww Issei I think that one with the Adam's apple likes you"** Kumonji nudged. Even the Toji smirked at that, before deciding to move on.

In a rather unusual looking bunch of trees a small blue dragon flew down to land on Asia's head and flap its wings in delight. **"There's a familiar, cute and dangerous too. Piss it off it shoots lightning that's blue."** Instantly they bonded, and Asia decided to call him Rassei. Not noticing the feeling of something kind of heavy on his shoulder Kumonji looked over to see the head of an olive colored snake staring into his eyes. He froze trying not to get bitten, but seeing that it was actually coiling itself carefully around his neck he ventured to scratch between it's eyes.

 **"Now there's a sight you rarely see, Ouroboros never leave their trees."** The Toji pointed to its back, where small folded wings were held flush against it. Kumonji was still a bit nervous but the serpent appeared to nuzzle into his hand so he took that as a sign that this was the one for him. **"It's nice to meet you Phaes. I'm Kumonji, and I'll be taking care of you okay?"** In response the devil was met with a row of sharp teeth biting into his palm as the familiar seemed to smile. The rook paled and became rather uneasy, feeling the venom seeping into him. **"If it likes you and bites, it should be alright. As long as you're in tune, it'll bite till you're immune."** At that, Phaes released and coiled around his neck, laying its head down so it could rest. **"It can also be a bit lazy, so try not to get too crazy."**

Just then, blobs of green slime began raining down, sticking and burning the clothes of the women while Kiba tried fighting off a blob that stuck itself over his eyes. Kumonji shielded his eyes and when he did was beholden as the women were left with their clothes in tatters and barely covering anything except their shoes. Koneko, having decked Issei was threatening to hit Kumonji as well. He quickly looked away, nosebleed levels at danger red. _'Dammit, I've been spending too much time around the Perv King.'_ Thankfully between Rias and Akeno getting free the slime was short lived. Rassei fried off what was left of the slime on Asia though the damage to all of the girls' clothing was already done. Kumonji took off his jacket and white button up, handing them over to Rias and Akeno respectively. **"H-here, you should probably wear these. At least until you get your own stuff back..."** Koneko looked unhappy that she wasn't offered something as well, until Kiba draped his jacket over her from behind.

In the end, Issei didn't get a familiar but Asia and Kumonji bonded to their own so they were happy with the outcome. Upon finding the exit to the forest Kumonji scratched Phaes under the chin and promised to visit soon.

~~ End of Chapter 8

A/N: I've got nothin. As always, Reviews are cool and thanks for reading! Peace and hair grease!


	9. Friends in Need

Allo again all you devils-to-be and welcome to the latest installment of From the Outside. I have to apologize for both the lateness and quality of this chapter but I'm gonna try and work on bigger longer stronger chapters, starting with this one. If you've been reading and following you're the besticles. On to the good stuff!

 **DxD and any other anime are property of their respective creators. Kumonji's my only creation.**

* * *

Issei grumbled his way into the club room, still barely making any contracts and not shy about how unhappy he was about it. **"Hey everyone, I'm back. Flyers handed out and summon satisfied. What's up.. with.."** Inside were Kiba, Asia, Koneko, and someone laying on the couch beside Asia with their feet up over the edge of the armrest and the neck of a guitar pointed toward the door. Creeping closer Issei peeked over the back of the couch. It was none other than Kumonji, idly strumming out notes with his head in Asia's lap as her Twilight Healing glowed over his ears. **"Oh hey Issei, when did you get here?"** the redhead half-shouted.

 **"Hey what the hell man? Trying to make a move on Asia behind my back just because I'm not around? I get it she's hot and all but bros don't do that to bros."** Issei held his fist up for emphasis, but Kumonji just cocked his eyebrow and pointed to his ear with a confused look on his face.

 **"Actually, Issei.. um, I was just.."**

 **"The one you're threatening there got summoned last night to by a metal band to play a gig in place of their guitarist who got the flu at the last minute. Devil hearing is extra sensitive as it is, but 3 hours of blaring music right up close it's a wonder he could even make it home. Asia ran into him first and promised to help heal him so they can go over today's classes."** Kiba pointed out with a rather bemused smirk. Asia had been at it for almost a half hour now, and finally Kumonji showed some signs of being able to hear again, albeit at a human level which made him feel practically deaf for the time being.

 **"Oh. Sorry I had no idea."**

 **"It's cool,"** the rook replied, straightening himself up to face his best bud. **"Besides, at least I got their autographs and they let me keep the pick they loaned me. These custom ones are frigging expensive. Might just make a necklace or something out of it to keep on me. In fact.."** He took out his favorite bandana and unfurled it, placing the pick in the center before he folded it up once again and wrapped it around his wrist. **"And before you ask I'm not telling you which band it was, I was nervous enough doing it the first time and hopefully nobody put the video on YouTube. Great group though.."**

At that the would be guitarist started strumming six rather memorable notes in a pattern that had Koneko out of her seat and across the room, pinning the strings down faster than the eye could behold. **"No Stairway."**

 **"You know Koneko I get the distinct feeling you don't like the classics, or you've watched too much Wayne's World. Anyway since 3 of them summoned me at the same time Prez said she would count it as multiples. I think. It was kinda hard to hear over the ringing in my head."** Before Issei could protest to how unfair that was Kumonji's phone began to buzz and vibrate in his pocket. Opening the new message he quickly scanned over it and put it away and sighed. **"Well I've got the night off and stuff to do tomorrow apparently, so I'll see you guys later. Tell Prez and Miss Himejima hey for me,"** he said waving his way out, Worn Cherry Flying V strapped to his back.

When he got outside he looked around to see if it was dark enough and if there were any witnesses. Seeing that it should be safe he extended his wings and took to the sky, looking down to his guitar strap tugging lightly in his shoulder. _'Maybe this time it'll work..'_ He ventured to maneuver the strap off and fasten the instrument to his feet, gliding warily with one hand around the neck. He let go, feet still in contact with wood as he slowly straightened. For a second, his idea was working, gliding along like he was on a skateboard right up to the moment that the strap slipped off his front sneaker and took a nosedive toward the concrete below. **"Crap not again!"** He tucked in and dove, just managing to catch the guitar above the roofline before planting his feet solidly on terra firma and deciding to walk the rest of the way. **"...I'll figure it out eventually."**

The morning following he overslept and awoke to his phone blowing up, Matsu on the other end. **"Kumonji! There you are, we need you asap downtown. I'm sending you coordinates now, please get there fast and hold tight. Minato and Musubi will be on their way too."** Sure enough as he held the phone away he saw the map opening and a small blip in the downtown area followed by two more, all moving rather quickly.

 **"Er Matsu, the dots are moving. Is this a glitch?"**

 **"Just get there as fast as you can okay?"**

 **"Right, I'm headed there now."** He hung up, threw on grey jeans and a plum shirt and lept out the window, running as fast as he could toward the GPS tracker. 10 minutes later he was lost in a large area with the marker reading off that whatever he was after was one block behind him and three blocks left. _'Whatever this is it's moving fast.'_ Striving to take the up-and-over method he arrived to find two women in matching purple tights that left little to the imagination standing next to a rather gruff looking gentleman. Below, in the courtyard between the three of them and him was a tall and buxom blonde woman standing on a giant.. Fern?

 **"Okay I know I'm a devil but this is some weird crap even for me.. wait, is that a kid down there?"** Looking past the blonde Kumonji noticed another boy with dark hair and a little girl in a white nightgown and long brown locks like a koi fish. Checking to see if he was in the right place he looked at the markers. On the one where the young man and the kid were read the names "Minato" and "Kusano" beside the marker labeled Tsukiumi where he guessed he was going to be helping. With what though, who could say?

 **"Hey Blondie! My sister and I aren't done with you yet!"** shouted one of the two purple-clad.. oooooh. _'Now it makes sense: They're all Sekirei. Minato wants 'Tsu-ki-u-mi?" yeah, Tsukiumi to join him and that other guy there wants to fight him for her. Maybe I should just sit back and watch.'_ With that thought, the two girls up high charged up an attack of odd lightning, giving Tsukiumi a wicked smile that promised pain. They clasped hands and let loose their attack.

 **"..That freaking hurt."** Tsukiumi opened her eyes to find a red haired punk standing before her, shielding her from the attack with his body. **"Hey, you alright miss?"**

 **"Who art thou? I needst no saving and will not thank thee now kindly move."** the blonde quipped back rather hastily.

 **"Yeah well you're welcome. And again, are you hurt? That goes for you too, kid. Nobody else needs to get hurt."**

Minato just shook his head. **"N-no I think we're okay. Who are you anyway?"**

 **"HEY! Nobody asked you to intervene Cherryhead! Our Ashikabi wants that Sekirei so move aside."**

 **"No can do girls. I won't let someone who tries to hurt a lady get away with it, least of all one who claims her like property."** Kumonji's words sent Tsukiumi's heart to flutter. In an instant, her hatred of men shriveled just slightly enough that the one exception had become two. The twins however just snarled and tossed a pair of attacks at him like the first, then another and another. Still he stayed rooted to the spot, Minato covering Kusano and watching over his shoulder. The attacks definitely hit and were rippling through him, but for whatever reason he didn't seem to flinch.

 **"Why wouldst thou risk thine own life for me? I did not ask thee to help me yet you shield me all the same."**

 **"Truth be told I didn't do this by choice, I was asked by a friend to help a friend out. While I'm being perfectly honest I've always been a bit of a sadist anyway.."** The barrage of lightning stopped, and Kumonji dropped to his knees. **"Besides, who could hurt such a lovely face?"** Tsukiumi felt it again, that deep feeling that maybe she could be someone's sekirei.. she reached her hand out to his shoulder, but in that moment the enhanced Sekirei twins unleashed their ultimate attack and fried the Rook where he was, knocking him out. The last thing he could remember was Tsukiumi getting closer, then landing facefirst on something soft...

 **"WATER CELEBRATION!"** The redhead was blasted through the wall by a panting and redfaced blonde holding her chest with one hand. **"Thou pervert! Someone so crass could never be my Ashikabi!"** She prepared a second attack at the dazed young man but was tackled out of the way of a secondary barrage from the twins by Minato.

 **"Stop it Seiyo. I won't let you hurt her. I-I'll fight you for her, because.. She's MY Sekirei!"**

Kumonji awakened several minutes later, shaking off the headache he just got rid of and standing to see Tsukiumi and Minato kissing. From her back white wings emerged, and she flushed before turning away. **"Thou art my Ashikabi Minato, as well as my husband. As for her,"** she stated, pointing to Kusano **"Though I sense she is a sekirei she is but a child and poses no threat to me."**

 **"Minato!"** An equally busty woman in a white top not dissimilar to Akeno's dropped beside the three and hugged the young man.

 **"Prey tell, monkey, just how many sekirei dost thou already have?"**

 **"Well just Musubi and you and Ku."** Minato's phone began to ring and he looked at the screen to see it was Matsu calling for a progress report. **"Oh, and Matsu."**

At this point Tsukiumi looked over at Kumonji who was dusting himself off and considered maybe that she had chosen incorrectly. The redhead walked over and held out his hand to shake with Minato. **"Minato Sahashi right? Matsu sent me, told me you could use a hand. Name's Kumonji Tokumatsu, a devil at your service. Pleasure's all mine. Hi there Musubi, Kusano. Good to see you two again outside Maison Izumo. Guess I could have introduced myself more properly last time we met."** He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

 _'A devil?'_ Tsukiumi thought, a bit confused by his choice of words. However, everyone seemed to freak out when his devil wings shot open for all to see. _'A nightmare. Thou hast found thyself in a nightmare Tsukiumi.'_ The sekirei knelt and held her hands to her head, disbelieving exactly what was happening to her life at the moment.

 **"You okay?"** Kumonji held out his hand to her. **"I'm sorry about earlier. I seem to have the worst luck around beautiful women, especially gathered together in one place."** He smiled warmly and helped her to her feet, then blanched when he was suddenly showered in water along with Minato.

 **"Thou art forgiven you both. Come now, we must be headed home."** They all waved and parted ways, Kumonji climbing back up to the roof to try and fly again. There was a light breeze he noticed, one that wasn't there a minute ago. Brushing it off he started running toward the edge of the building and went building top to building top to make his way home. All the way wherever he goes seems to be a light gust of wind. Just as he goes to enter his house he turns to face the gust, and it dies away. _'That's not normal, even for this crazy world.'_

An hour later Kumonji strides onto campus, stopping short when his phone starts ringing out Resonance, his alert for text messages. **"It's from Akeno.. '911, clubroom now.' That can't be good."** The concern racing around in his mind propels him faster and faster, barreling down the halls to the club room. When he gets to the door just as he's about to open the door he hears a rather disquieting male voice and a throaty moan from a woman. _'The fuck?'_

 **"Please tell me this isn't all of your servants Rias. Riser was hoping for something a bit more.. well, more."**

The redhead practically kicked the door open at the snide voice. Whoever it was, this guy had the voice and attitude that got on your nerves right off the bat. All eyes were on the newest arrival as he looked around for a second at the room full of women and the tall blonde with a sneer on his face. **"...What the hell is going on here?"**

* * *

End-Chapter 9

Hey you guys! so yeah more words this time, longer and longer chapters slowly getting bigger and better (i hope)

So yes Light crossover of Sekirei there will be a bit more of that but with a purpose i promise. As always, readers are awesome reviews are helpful and Akeno makes tasty cakes. (Issei: yeah her cakes are the be- _**Whack!**_ ) That's enough outta you ya perv.


	10. Heavy Lifting

Tenth Chapter! woohoo double digits!

Big thank you for everyone who stuck with it thus far. Enough from me, let's get to the good parts!

 **DxD and any characters are property of their respective creators. Any anime besides DxD too. I only own the big lug with the red hair and the guitar on his back.**

The room was silent, everyone in it watching the glaring battle between Riser Phenex and Kumonji. Neither one were blinking or looking away, before Riser scoffed. **"Prey tell, is this feisty one yours as well Rias? Riser rather likes his fighting spirit."**

 **"Riser also likes speaking in the third person I'm assuming"** the rook shot back. It was already evident that this guy was going to be irritating.

 **"Rias dear, if we're to be married your servants should learn their place. The House of Phenex loves its fire, but this one must be tamed."** With that Riser called over his queen and began kissing her, groping her chest with no regard.

 **"I hate this guy so freaking much!"** Issei whined, jealous of Riser and his peerage.

 **"Issei, chill. He may have what you want but he wouldn't appreciate it as much as you. Besides, that one there.. That's his little sister."** Issei, Kiba and Koneko all blanched at the implication. _'Wait, what? It's happening again.. I've got to figure this thing out fast.'_

 **"Tch. Such insolence, a mere low rank such as you could never ascend to the greatness that is Riser."** Riser waved his hand and up stepped a young woman with a bo staff, ready to strike. Kumonji assumed a ready stance but Issei stepped in front of him, calling out his boosted gear to his left arm.

 **"I don't care who you are or what you say, anyone who tries to take Rias from me is gonna get clobbered. I'll kick your ass right here right now, to Hell with the rating game."** Issei made a move toward Phenex but was intercepted and slammed in the gut by the staff, sending him into the ceiling and gasping to the floor.

 **"Issei!"** Rias cradled her pawn in her lap, all the while Issei reassuring her that he was fine. **"Lady Grafia, please inform my brother that we accept the challenge of a rating game."**

The silver haired woman in the corner vanished with a bow. Riser took one look and sneered. **"How you coddle your pieces so. Riser has a full set of the finest pieces, and therefor has no need for such frivolities. I look forward to my victory."** The entire Phenex set retreated in a burst of flames and the screech of a bird of prey. As soon as they were gone everyone left in the Occult Research Club breathed a momentary sigh of relief, that is until Akeno put a hand on Rias' shoulder. **"President, I'm not so sure that was a good idea. We are outnumberd and a bit.. inexperienced."**

 **"Thanks for the vote of confidence Akeno. What is this Rating game anyway?"** Kumonji raised his hands. Unnoticed to him were the light burn marks on his wrists from only a few hours ago. Asia noticed them first and rolled up his sleeves to see how bad they were. **"Oh no you're hurt!"**

 **"And just where have you been to get those? Someone was a rather naughty boy running off and picking fights."** Akeno brought her hand to her mouth as she giggled warily.

Kumonji just looked away with a bit of a pout. **"Hey I asked a question first you know. And if you must know a friend was in trouble and needed a bit of help. I just.. deflected a bit of static between the two sides."**

It was at this point Issei and Rias stood up, the latter declaring with finality, **"We'll discuss this later. To answer your question the Rating game is a bit like a game of chess between two peerages, a combat sport to capture the king. Since we have three rookies who don't have much combat experience, it would be best if we all began training right away. They may have more pieces, but I have faith in all of you."**

That night, Kumonji packed his bags, grabbing enough gear to be prepared for anything. As his backpack zipped up he heard the door to his room open and turned to find Teiya there. **"Hey. Sona told me about the rating game, so I guess you're off to prepare for it right?"**

 **"...Yeah."** He turned and looked at the woman his sister was becoming. **"Don't worry will ya? Fighting with you my whole life I don't think they stand a chance."** They both shared a chuckle, before Teiya hugged him.

 **"Just don't lose you big jerk. If you get hurt I'm gonna kill you."**

 **"Sure thing sis. Watch over mom while we're gone 'kay? I gotta go get Issei and Asia."** He strode out with her in tow, waving his way out the door and over to the Hyoudo residence. The three of them set out to meet up with everyone else. It was about halfway to the school that Kumonji suddenly stopped and shouted **"OH MY GOSH! I can't believe I forgot, you guys go on ahead I need to run back and grab something."** Turning and running back, the rook burst through the door and ran upstairs flinging the door open to the workout room. **"Sorry just need my yo-"** There in the middle of the room was Teiya in yoga pants doing downward dog. Both of them were quite red in the face. **"Ku- GET OUT!"** He was lucky to avoid the first dumbell but the second one pelted him square in the forehead, knocking him over backward. _'On the upside maybe the blunt force trauma will reset my short term memory..'_ The redhead grabbed his workout gear and yoga mat and got out as quick as he could, covering his forehead to avoid any questions.

 **"Come on Issei just a few more feet!" "You're almost there!"** Rias, Akeno and Asia were at the head, halfway up the hill. Struggling to make his way up was Issei, gasping and sweating like crazy. His legs were on fire and it felt like he was ready to collapse, but he was so close to the rest point.

 **"On your right."** Kiba strolled past Issei like it was nothing, barely breaking a sweat. When Issei moved to protest he felt someone nudge his backpack, only to find Koneko carrying a pack large enough to smuggle everyone else full to the brim. **"Move it perv,"** she said, causing Issei to tip and nearly fall over backwards out of bewilderment.

 **"Whoa! One side or backside buddy."** Kumonji, carrying a pack just as big as Koneko's managed to catch him and tip him back to his feet.

 **"Aaaargh I hate this!"** the pawn protested, falling to his knees. Rias smiled in sympathy, as did a few others. Koneko and Kumonji just rolled their eyes and smirked. **"You need to get stronger Issei, and carrying heavy weights will build your legs and increase your endurance."**

Rias had brought them all to this home away from home for 10 days of intense teambuilding and strength training. Considering the overwhelming odds, Grayfia had relayed from the higher ups that time to prepare was more than fair. Thus, the long trudge to a beautiful home on top of a high hill away from the world. It had taken all morning to get Issei in gear and to the top, but considering that Kumonji had turned it into a race with Kiba and Koneko it's to be expected that they all found themselves waiting on him. The race went well, Koneko leaping off of Kumonji's pack, Kumonji craftily running up the wall and around Kiba only to trip in front of the knight. In the end, Kiba and Koneko tied for first with the redhead catching a root and flying headfirst over the finish line in 3rd. **"Next time will be different... Whoa."** The three of them looked around, Asia Rias and Akeno just making it to the top. **"This place is beautiful!"** Asia cried out. Everyone took a short moment to admire the scenery before Rias spoke up.

 **"Alright everyone, unpack and let's get this training started. We only have 10 days so we're going to make the most of every second. In the mornings we'll be working on teamwork, afternoons will be for building skills and evenings we'll be getting you all stronger. So let's get to work!"** The king pumped her fist, joined by everyone save Issei who muttered something along the lines of "Not Fair."

Shortly thereafter found Kiba and Issei paired off holding pratice swords. To their left was Kumonji and Koneko, squared off in boxing gloves. The air was still, barely a breath of wind. Issei launched in first to swing at Kiba madly and with reckless abandon. Kumonji on the other hand was low in stance, trying to visualize the fight before it happened, see every possible- **"Bring it bitch."** Such words with a serious face from Koneko, it was hard to decide whether to be insulted or laugh, but he took the bait and closed the gap between them, jabbing left, backstep, _**-whiff!-**_ _'dammit!'_ plant foot, right cross, left to the b- Koneko's body blow connected right to the gut and big red is down. **"You're too concerned about where your fist is going. Focus only on your target and keep your awareness at all times. Next time I won't go easy on you."**

Kumonji just wiped his cheek and smirked. **"Good. Pain makes me stronger, and I like that."** The rook gets back to his feet and gets a little more loose in his stance. **"Ready to go again?"**

~Several beatings later~

Akeno took the newbies inside to focus on their magic capabilities. Asia grasped the concept first, being able to contain and feed a small ball of light similar to Twiight Healing. Issei on the other hand tried but was often distracted, a fact that led to several pummelings upside the head by Kumonji. **"When she says 'use your head and feel the flow' I'm pretty sure that's not the head she was talking about."**

 **"Come on Issei just visualize. It can be anything you want"** Akeno said, posing rather suggestively. Kumonji wasn't sure if she was doing it on purpose but the blush on Issei's face clearly indicated he wasn't the only one thinking it.

 **"...Issei.."**

 **"I'm only visualizing magical things!"** _ **Blam!**_ Pawn meets wall, then floor.

 _'I can't say I wasn't thinking the same thing, but come on I still owe Akeno that date!'_ The rook sighed internally, sure he could jump in front of lightning but he still hadn't taken Akeno out? Pathetic. That would definitely change, starting right here and right now. He shook his head out and took a deep breath to concentrate. His hands came to his chest palm up and fingertips pressed together until he felt the flow and tried to amplify it. There was a small flutter of.. something, then it died out. _'huh. I didn't think I'd be able to do magic.'_

The rest of the day was spent honing individual skills, Asia and Issei both sent to the kitchen to focus on their magic, Kiba going through katas at various speeds and with swords of different size and weight. Kumonji headed to the room where there were weights for lifting and a treadmill, deciding to beef up his natural strength as well. To his surprise when he opened the door a certain silverette was hard at work lifting the max weight on one machine. From the looks of it she'd been here for a while. **"Mind if I get in on some of that?"** he asked. She merely shook her head in reply and he hopped on the treadmill first to get his heartrate up. A short warmup later and the two were on circuit, Koneko finishing her workout decided to stay and watch, as well as hydrate.

 **"...You know I appreciate the company but you don't have to stay and watch, I'm sure I'm fairly boring."**

 **"Not at all, there's actually very little else to do right now."**

 **"I see. What about Kiba?"** For what seemed like the first time, Koneko was caught off guard and sputtered her water, a bit of flush in her cheeks. _'That got her attention.'_ **"I mean really, you two keep dancing around your feelings for each other like a freaking sombrero. I see the way you look at each other so just go up and tell him how you feel. I mean it's kinda hypocritical that I haven't asked Akeno out but if you can do it then I will too!"**

Koneko took a moment to pause and consider it. She was certain of her feelings, and hoped he felt the same, but this little nudge might just be the assurance she was looking for. Meanwhile, coming just up the hall, Akeno could hear faint muffled voices coming from the weight room. Upon getting closer, she could hear Koneko talking to someone.

 **"You really feel that way?"**

 **"Absolutely! Gotta admit you love someone to their face ya know? Otherwise, what's the point?"**

 **"Thank you. You're really easy to talk to."**

 **"Well you know.. I just look tough but I'm a big softy inside."**

At that, Akeno opened the door, fake smile plastered on her face. **"Hey you two, dinner's just about ready."** Before either could reply, she turned back down the hall and let her emotions show. _'He doesn't feel the same about me. I knew it, he really is just a jerk.'_

Koneko, who had been around Akeno long enough knew that face and what it meant. **"I'd go talk to her soon if I were you."** The redhead merely cocked his head in response, repeating to himself how he truly had no clue about the opposite sex.

Dinner was mostly quiet, Akeno never making eye contact with the rook, Koneko stealing glances at Kiba every chance she got, and Issei undressing every woman in the room with his eyes. Kumonji, sitting beside him, caught him one time between bites and leaned over to whisper in his ear _**"Miiiiiiiiiiiltooooon."**_ The resulting choke was priceless, everyone laughed as Issei beat uselessly on his best friend's arm swearing and telling him never to do that again. **"Alright everyone! Dishes away, we're headed to the baths."**

 **"Wait, you're all gonna bathe together? Like, Naked?!"**

Kumonji grabbed the perv by the collar and stuffed him back into his seat. **"Sit boy."**

 **"Oh would you boys like to join us? I wouldn't mind. Do you care Akeno? Asia?"**

 **"I don't mind at all. It could be fun" "U-um I don't mind."**

 **"What about you Koneko?"** Rias asked, knowing the answer.

 **"I'd rather die."**

 **"Awww sorry guys looks like you're on your own."** Issei fell out of his seat in disappointment, but everyone just rolled their eyes. Kumonji made a quick move to gather the plates, Akeno's last. He leaned in and whispered to her **"Can we talk for a minute?"** Seeing her eyes search his he tried to appear as genuine as possible. The long moment was broken as she nodded and he took her plate to the sink to wash. She followed with the leftovers and sat on the counter once they were all put in the refrigerator. **"I heard you and Koneko."**

 **"-talking about her and Kiba. She's hesitant for some reason and I told her what she needed to hear in order to step up and admit her feelings. She pointed out the hypocricy that.."** The rook stopped midway through washing a plate. _'Just say it.. say it.. Say IT!'_ He sighed then continued on. **"That I don't have a girlfriend yet, but I just told her my opinion."** _'You coward! this was your shot!'_ **"I just can't stand that two of my friends can't admit to having feelings for each other."** He turned to face Akeno, but she still seemed upset at him.

 **"You could be lying to me too. Either way, I want to hear what she has to say about this."** Kumonji bowed his head and nodded. It was clearly going to take a while before she trusted him again, and he knew it.

End of Chapter 10

A/N: so yeah just in case anyone calls "Overreaction" you have to remember that Akeno has daddy issues and that can make it hard for her to trust men. Since they haven't gone out together yet it's obvious she thinks he may be seeing other girls (and considering the times he hangs out with Matsu she's pretty justified). Will our couples come together or fall apart? Find out next time on Drago- er, nevermind.

You guys are awesome so you should feel awesome. Reviews will get lemon bars from Asia!Peace and Hair grease!


	11. Let the Battle Commence!

Hello Everyone! So excited because today is the biggest and baddest chapter by far. This will be the chapter that wraps up the training and we're diving straight into the rating game! Oh hell i'm so excited i could explode! (and i just might!)

 **As always, DxD is not my property nor my responsibility. But Damn it's just too much fun not to mess with~!**

* * *

The steam in the bath billowed and danced to the ceiling, high above anybody's heads. In the boy's bath, Issei, Kiba and Kumonji were soaking. The blonde bubbled and rested on the edge, only the day's work to wash away. Looking to his right he saw the redhead brooding on another edge facing the wall, and on his left the self proclaimed King of Harems was trying with all his might to amplify his vision and see through the 3 feet of concrete that separated him from a full on naked chick montage that he was playing on loop in his head. Kiba decided that dealing with Kumonji would be easier, so he waded over and put a hand on his shoulder. Of course, watching the big bad rook jump like he'd just walked into a spiderweb was equally comical. **"Sorry about that. You seem troubled, anything you'd like to talk about?"**

Kumonji turned to face him and stood up, sighing. **"Kiba, have you ever felt something so strong that you just wanted to follow that gut instinct to the ends of the world? I.. someone on this team is in love with someone else, but too damn afraid to say it outright and get rejected. But I want so badly for these two to be together, you get me?"**

Kiba's eyes went very wide, and even Issei had to turn around to give him the suspicious eye. After a very long, very silent awkward moment Kiba cleared his throat, trying his best to keep the pink out of his cheeks. **"As.. nice as that sounds Kumonji, I.."**

 **"Wait! no no not me! Dude I'm not gay."** He held his hands in the air for a second as the shock and confusion wore off, **"I meant me and Akeno. But she hates me because she caught me talking about love with Koneko and thinks that I was coming onto her even though we were talking about Koneko and.. er.. someone else."** He barely managed to avoid spilling the beans to Kiba, though in turn he had stumbled over his words making it sound very suspicious. **"Look, Koneko and me get along, we're both Rooks, we like having a workout partner who can push our limits, and she's got a sweet tooth like I do. That doesn't matter though cause she knows I like Akeno and I know she's in love with.. this other guy. I just don't get girls sometimes."**

Kiba just smirked, then burst into a fit of laughter. **"** _ **That's**_ **what has you so down? Dude, you're badass just like the rest of us so stop doubting yourself. Besides, nobody gets girls. The second you get close they flip the switch and it's all back to the drawing board. Just be you. Unless of course you're Issei."** The perv was still trying his hardest to stare through the wall, though it looked and sounded more like he would pop a blood vessel or something other than gain x-ray vision.

Over on the Girl's side, Akeno and Rias were idly chatting about day one of training camp from hell. In truth, Akeno's mind was batting back and forth whether or not she should talk to Koneko. On the one hand, IF he was telling the truth, Kumonji wasn't really in love with her and maybe..

 **"Akeno?"**

 **"Hmm? I'm sorry Pres, it looks like you caught my mind wandering."** Akeno looked down at the steamy water where she had her knees up to her chest trying to sort out her feelings. Anger, if he really was using her, Jealousy if Koneko had made a move, remorse for not being more open and confronting him sooner. **"Rias, have you ever loved someone? I mean, truly loved someone?"**

Rias looked her best friend over carefully. Of course, having caught on to the last bit and the mood of the room Asia and Koneko covered up and walked over to the edge. The Nekomata sat right beside Akeno, and Asia on the other side of Rias. Koneko dipped her feet in the water and looked her senpai in the face. **"Something you wanna share with the class?"**

Akeno winced, clenching her jaw and bringing her legs a bit closer to her in anger, but took a short breath and let it out. **"What were you and Kumonji talking about this evening when I walked in? Tell me, is he in love with you?"** She waited with bated breath. She knew she was going to hate the answer. All men were-

 **"No."** Akeno gasped, but Koneko just went on. **"Actually he was giving me advice on how to address my feelings toward Kiba. I found it rather helpful actually, and was hoping he would take his own advice for talking to you."** She had known? Was it really that obvious?

 **"Akeno, it was kinda obvious when you asked to watch over him the day we found him in that alley. We're best friends, you could have come to me sooner."** All the girls gave her a supportive smile, which then turned into Rias and Asia politely smiling at each other as if the sparks flying between the two of them weren't really there.

* * *

 **Next Day**

 **"Alright Issei, we're going to test your progress thus far and show you how to maximize the rest of your time here to get you stronger."** Rias was firing on all cylinders today, for whatever reason. In fact, now that Kumonji got a good look all of the girls seemed peppier and much more focused than before. **"Alright, summon your Sacred Gear and power up."**

 **"But, you kinda told me not to use my Sacred Gear at all."**

 **"This is an exception I'm making. Go ahead."**

 **"Right. Boosted GEAR!"** The red gauntlet of the Welsh Dragon appeared on command, and right off the bat charged his power up.

 _ **Boost!**_

 **"Again Issei, power up as high as you can"**

 **"Right. Double my power!"** _ **Boost!**_ **"Again!"** _ **Boost!**_ **"One more!"** _ **Boost!**_ Issei continued this streak up to 11 times, barely breaking a sweat or needing any more coaxing than to call out to it. It was there that Rias stopped him. **"Do you see now Issei? You're further along and more capable than ever before. Your body would never have been able to withstand this much power."** Issei merely looked at her and thought back to what the first day did for him. Now that he thought about it he did feel himself getting stronger and more in tune with his body. And of course all the hotness he had imagined along the way...

Kumonji was about to deliver the blow but Rias stepped in his way. **"Not just yet rookie, you'll be going against him soon enough. In fact, I think we're all curious to see how much you've learned. Ready for a one on one?"** Kumonji took his stance and summoned his full sacred gear, the metal was smoother and slightly darker than before not to mention that the plating on his thighs and shoulderblades was wider. **"Well alright then. Full power gentlemen, now's the time to get stronger."** With that she brought her hand down through the air like a knife. Kumonji charged forward and drew back his fists. At first Issei was ready to duck, until he saw that the swing had come full circle and were now primed for a double uppercut.

 **"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"** Issei got knocked back quite a way, but still stayed on his feet, then came in for a counter attack. Back and forth exchanges were made until the two clashed face to fist. Kumonji dug his feet in and got into his ready stance once again, while Issei took a more lax approach. Kumonji saw what his friend was up to and took up the same drunken boxing pose.

 _ **Explosion!**_

 **"...Well fuck."** Issei held his hand open and summoned a small ball of red light between his fingertips. As he drew his fist back and punched it Kumonji knew that particular attack (or at least the one it was based on) was designed to do one thing: hurt. **"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuuuuuuu-"** The Dragon Shot as it was called carved a trench leading up to the redhead, who knew he could neither evade it nor outrun it. In a moment of sheer panic he brought his forearms together palm in and braced for impact. When the light subsided and the damage was visible, the beam had carried all the way to the adjacent mountain and dug an even larger scar in the earth. Everyone gaped at the immensity of the attack's power, but gasped when they saw that the scar leading up to Kumonji took an abrupt turn 30 degrees to the right of the rook. Opening his eyes, Kumonji saw that his sacred gear had somehow changed its shape, resembling an oval-shaped mirror that split down the middle as he relaxed.

 **"Whoa what the hell.. I did that?"** Issei gawked, causing Kumonji to turn and look at what he just barely avoided.

 **"Holy dicks. Let's try not to aim that at me again, eh?"** Looking down Kumonji understood why his arms were stinging. **"Once again my sacred gear gets my arms fried like Katsu. Brilliant."** Asia was already on her way over when Kumonji's gear had retreated to its usual shape and then dissipated, so by the time he even saw that he was burned she was working to heal him. **"Thanks As- eh?"** On his other side, Akeno was focused on augmenting her healing ability, causing the stinging sensation to turn to a pleasant numbness, one reflected on his face. _'That_ is _Akeno, right? and she's healing me.. I guess she talked to Koneko but she still hasn't said anything to me.'_ Mentally facepalming and deciding not to question a good thing he just took it for what it was. **"Hey Prez, think if we keep at this rate we could win against a more experienced opponent?"**

Rias just smirked. Oh how much there was left to learn. **"Yes, I have the utmost faith in all of you."**

The next few days everyone worked their hardest, pumping themselves up to the best of their abilities. Even Phaes and Rassei got in on it, having head to head spars before getting sleepy and watching from a shady tree. Issei had succeeded in learning how at least to defend himself, and Asia had become more proficient in her use of magic to the point where she could work on two spells at once with lesser power to each. Everyone had noticed how hard the three newbies were working, and it wasn't unnoticed either that Kumonji had the beginnings of dark circles under his eyes. Akeno went to confront him about them, but Rias had only assured her that he would tell someone when he was ready. Finally it was the night before the big event, everybody had eaten dinner quietly, knowing that it all came down to the next day. Everything they had worked so hard for was just a night's sleep away. Issei was up late, nervous about such a big event and only so soon after becoming a devil. On the other side of his bedroom wall, Kumonji was laying face up on the floor staring at the dark ceiling. There was no way he would lose this game. Rias had a plan, Akeno had the boom, and everyone else was psyched. **"I won't be the weak link."**

* * *

It seemed like a blink of an eye but the redhead woke up to the soft strum of a guitar from the alarm on his iPod ( **A/N:** Fkarnd by Pepper, great song to get up to). This was it, the day that he'd trained so hard for. Thankfully the dark circles around his eyes had faded slightly he noticed before showering. After a light breakfast, it was time to move out and meet up at the club room for a quick debrief and teleportation to the playing field. Seeing Issei and Asia walking out the front door of the Hyoudo residence they all nodded in determination and walked quietly toward their goal, almost marching in unison. Kumonji was surprised to find Sona and her queen waiting and talking to Rias. The last few moments were spent prepping in any way from stretching to talking each other up. Kumonji looked over to Akeno, still wanting answers for the other day and what this meant for the two of them. However, in that moment Grayfia appeared and created a teleportation circle for everyone.

 _'It can wait until later.. It's not like the game will change things between us right?'_ He smirked and affirmed to himself that yes he was finally going to grow a pair after they won. They all stepped on and one by one vanished into-

 **"Hey wait, this is..."**

 **"Aww crap did I mess up the circle for everyone again?"**

 **"No Issei, look!"** Asia opened the window and pointed to the sky. The other two rookies looked out and saw Kuoh Academy, and above them in the sky... the aurora borealis?

 **"The playing field for each rating game is a neutral space made specifically for this reason. That means we can do some real heavy damage and not worry about the consequences. Seriously, we could burn it to the ground if we wanted."** Akeno stated matter-of-factly. Issei, Kumonji and Asia all went blank as they pondered the power necessary for such an action, not to mention how little they were strengthwise in comparison to the devil or devils who were capable of such a thing. **"Each side was involved in the decision of how the rating game grounds would be. Both sides gave input and ultimately it was decided that an identical replica of your Kuoh Academy would be fitting for both sides."** Grayfia added as if she were pointing out the fact that water was clear as well as wet. Snapping out of his daze Kumonji had a brilliant moment of clarity and had to check something.

 **"Miss Grayfia, when you say 'identical replica' that would have to involve the items and details taken from the real world correct? A bike for example?"** If he was right he may just have accidentally left a secret weapon on the grounds. Grayfia put her finger in the air as if she were calculating something. Obviously this was a rather odd question and even Rias wanted to see where this was going. After a long pause for thought the matron looked over at the rook with a nod. **"Yes I do believe every exact detail was copied in full when this space was made, so that would include scenery objects and foliage. If it was here in the real world, a duplicate should be in its place here. Why do you ask?"**

 **"Because I think I just got us a clincher."**

 **"The match between Rias of House Gremory and Riser of House Phenix will commence shortly. Standby for broadcasting."** Sona's voice boomed from seemingly everywhere.

 **"Broadcasting? You mean other people are watching this too?"** Kumonji had the sinking feeling in his gut that Teiya was somewhere betting against him. If this was being broadcast to other devils world- or underworld-wide who knows who else is watching.

 **"That reminds me Rias, didn't Grayfia say that the great Devil Lucifer would be watching?"** Akeno just had to go and pile one more thing on, but it had caught Rias' attention the first time. She seemed to pay no mind at all to this fact.

 **"Wait, THE Lucifer? Holy Balls we must be one badass team if** _ **The**_ **Devil himself is watching."** Issei shouted, getting pumped up that he was going to be showing his strength so soon.

 **"Actually-"**

 **"Lucifer is-"**

 **"My brother."** The president of the ORC stated. Kumonji noted the hint of venom behind her words, and Issei the slight change in body language. Issei understood now, when he and Rias had talked about strategy and the 72 pillars Rias had made mention that hers was one of the final 3. It would make sense that one of the 3 eldest marquis devils would also be in charge of the entire underworld. Asia was also quick to put it together, noting **"I guess that makes sense why Rias is the next heir to the House of Gremory."**

 **"That's enough of that now, we have a game to win. Gather 'round everyone, we'll need to perfect this strategy if we want to stand a chance."** To illustrate and determine the best plan of attack a map of the school was pulled out. **"We're here, in the old schoolhouse using the Club Room as our home base. Riser will probably be here, in the Principal's office of the new schoolhouse. That means if Issei gets to the new school building he can be promoted.."**

 **"Hell yeah! I'm gonna fight my way right over there and get promoted immediately! Then I can beat the crap outta lord douchenozzle."**

 **"Actually, that may not be such a good idea. The stronghold will be heavily fortified with most or all of Phenix's forces Issei, not to mention that it's their home base. The whole place could be boobytrapped in anticipation of that. On top of it all two queens on the same board is a great benefit later in the game but with a full board they would get in each other's way."** As the sharkheaded knight finished his thought he looked up and turned pink in the cheeks since everyone was watching him think this out. **"er.. at least that's my opinion on the matter."**

 **"Actually, you have a point Kumonji. But if the enemy is going to have ambushes and boobytraps set up all over the place, why not have a few of our own.** " Kiba stepped up to the map, pointing out the treeline to one side and the open field in the middle. **"It's wide open area and Phenix will see us coming a mile away."**

 **"We could flank around and go through the track field, or sneak in the back and use the element of surprise?"** Issei offered. Swing, and yet another miss.

 **"Riser will be counting on that. I think if we use these areas here, here, and here we can create a choke point and force the enemy into a tight space. We'll need to set up traps and diverstions here, and here. Kiba, you take this side with Koneko and Shiro, force them my way. I'll be the buffer with Phaes and we'll move in a wedge to this point right here. Akeno, that's your cue to bring the pain. Issei and Asia, you're the rearguard along with Rassei for surprise attacks and security for president Rias. It'll take all of us to bring them down, especially since we're outnumbered and inexperienced."**

 **"Quite the little tactician aren't you? I think that might work Kumonji, but to do it we'll have to get our foothold here. Think you can do that?"** The eye contact between the two redheads was intense, the rook knew he had made a bold plan of attack and now it was time to capitalize on all the hard work.

 _ **"Let the game begin!"**_

Koneko, Shiro, and Kiba were busy walking the paths through the woods and scattering different magic traps, occasionally glancing at each other and getting too shy to say anything. The silence between them was so loud it was audible on the magic earpieces that Rias had given to everyone. When they made it to the Tennis courts, they doubled back, making sure to leave a second set just to slow whoever was following them down. Satisfied, they headed back to the gap between the Tennis courts and the Assembly hall to wait. Koneko had to leave for the next part of the plan but she looked over at the blonde with rosy cheeks and- **"Don't fuck up out there."**

 _'Well, it's a start'_ everyone thought at the same time.

On the opposite side of the map Akeno was setting up some illusion magic and a few landmines of her own thanks to several mini-onis. Ahead of Akeno Kumonji was headed to the training hall where he hoped to find.. yes, there it was exactly where and how he had left it in the real world. **"Akeno, I have it. Our plan just came together."** The rook took it and headed back to the affected area while Akeno flew off to put a bit of illusion over Kiba's space as well. It was at this moment Kumonji felt a disturbing knot in his gut. **"Asia, what's Issei doing right now?"**

 **"Well he's.. his head is in Rias' lap"**

 **"Of course it is.. Will you hit him for me? My pervert sense is tingling."** Before Asia could give a response Kumonji was met with the satisfying sound of Rassei giving Issei a light toasting with his lightning. _'That will teach him to keep his head in the game.'_

 **"Once you're in the gym there's no way to avoid confrontation so take them out or get out as fast as you can. It's time to set things in motion."** Rias said with fist pump.

 **"We totally got this."** Akeno from up high could see two pawns and a Rook making their way around the grounds toward the Training hall. Off in the distance Kiba was moving into position on collision course with 3 more of Riser's pieces, and Koneko and Issei had just moved into the gym.

 **~With Kumonji~**

The rook lay in wait as he heard footsteps drawing closer. Stepping out of the treeline to address them they came to a halt. **"So it's just you then?"** The one with the staff smirked, ready to fight him rather too confidently. The twins with chainsaws fired them up and started running in.

 **"Oh I wouldn't say I'm alone, would you Phaes?"** The giant tetragram for summoning his familiar appeared and glowed, causing a large cloud of smoke to erupt. When it cleared the Red Rook was standing on the head of a 20 foot tall winged serpent, nearly 6 feet in thickness and reared back looking at the three of them like snacks. Suddenly the four girls, so eager to fight, ran away from "That big gross slimy monster of a snake" and toward the gym. Kumonji just laughed and keyed in to his communicator. **"Nice work on the looking glass illusion Akeno, 4 targets headed straight for the gym. Koneko, Issei, there are three pawns and a rook so be careful."** As Phaes spread his wings and turned toward Kumonji the illusion wore off. In truth the snake had only grown a foot since the day in the forest, and Kumonji had taken his guitar-flying trick and applied it to appear as if he really were on top of the snake's head. **"Never thought a natural affinity for wind magic could be so damn handy. Or that using snakes to freak out girls could be so practical."** A few gentle strokes to Phaes' head (and a gentle bite to the hand) and the ouroboros was sent back to the forest, so as not to get hurt.

 **~With Koneko and Issei~**

The four who had just escaped the wierdo with the big snake (a sentence murmured out loud by them and misinterpreted by Issei) found themselves catching their breath only to sense two more devils nearby. **"Come on out and fight us!"** Koneko and Issei stepped out from behind the curtain, assessing each one.

 **"The rook chick, she could be a big problem. You handle the pawns, I'll take her myself."**

 **"Aw what the hell, we were underdogs from the beginning, so lets get this started!"** Issei called his sacred gear and charged in, leaving the heavy hitter for Koneko.

 **~With Kiba~**

The three pawns Riser had moving around the other side were growing increasingly frustrated, putting up with mine after mine and delay after delay. It was grating on all of them rather quickly. The one in the maid outfit leading them dispersed yet another trap set at her feet then proceeded, only two steps later to have a small explosion tear her dress _again!_ **"UUUrgh Dammit this is getting annoying! Every single time there's always a second layer."** The one to her right deadpanned. **"You'd think that you would put that together more quickly and avoid them. Unless you secretly want to get blown up or something." "SHUT UP!"**

At that particular moment of disarray, the other one, also slightly tattered from the myriad of pitfalls (a few literally), pointed out the old school building up ahead. Finally, they had made it. As the three calmed slightly and approached, the illusion shattered to reveal that they had walked right past the school building and into a corner. The clearing they were standing in was also occupied by Kiba, who drew his sword and didn't give them the chance to retaliate, pressing them to keep the advantage in his favor and prevent the three of them to overwhelm or surround him. **"So sorry but your opponent today is me, and I've been given strict orders to win."**

 **~With Koneko and Issei~**

The Rook with flaming fists and feet had Koneko backstepping and on her heels, just trying not to get hit. When an opening presented itself the silverette stepped in and swung, only to dodge at the last second when a flaming foot came up and tore her clothes right up the middle. Issei lost focus for a second and the pawn with the rod struck him, sending him flying on a whirlwind into the wall. When he looked up he saw the two chainsaw weilding wierdos standing over him ready to go Texas Chainsaw on his ass. He scrambled to his feet and ran like his life depended on it, suddenly over his fancy for twins, chainsaws and that game with the zombie killing chainsaw weilding cheerleader. He turned just in time to find that the other pawn was waiting to strike and slid under her at the last second, giving him an accidental panty shot. Of course, this led him to think that maybe now was the time to unleash his secret weapon. When the twins landed, both right on top of him he unleashed his boosted gear and tagged them both, one on her butt and the other on her b cup. The twins squealed and stumbled away, red with feminine outrage. When the third one charged in with her staff Issei caught it in his left hand and crushed it with ease, tagging her in the shoulder as she thought it was a regular attack. The girls shook it off and got up, ready to kill Issei with every ounce of energy they had. **"Time to die!"** they all shouted in unison.

Issei kept his cool as they all lept at him. **"Nope, time to... GET NAKED!"** A snap of the fingers and three women had their clothes burst and were suddenly much less ready to fight or even move. **"You like that? I've always been undressing women with my eyes, now I can do it for real!"**

Koneko just facepalmed and finished off the rook while giving Issei the dirtiest look. **"You freaking pervert."**

 _ **"Koneko, Issei, what's your status?"**_

 **"We're done here, the pervert managed to overcome the three pawns and the rook is beaten. We're moving now."** At that moment Issei was ready to give Koneko a high five, but she just looked at him and said **"If you try to peel me I'll kick you in the balls."**

 _ **"You two need to get out of there. Akeno and Kumonji are outside, rendezvous and prepare for phase 2."**_

The two made their way outside, listening to the 4 inside scream about leaving a battle unfinished. When they got out they were glad that they did. Sure enough Akeno was in the air overhead and called down a massive barrage of lightning to level the gym in a huge explosion.

 _ **One of Riser's rooks and three pawns, retired.**_

 **"Boom"** Akeno seemed to be having a little too much fun. If the look on Kumonji's face was any indication, he might be too. **"Is it wrong to love how naughty that girl is?"**

Issei just looked at his best friend with a look of incredulity. **"And you say I have a problem..If anything I'm just glad the hardcore dominatrix is on our team."**

 **"And so am I..."** The redhead added with a lecherous smirk.

 _ **'...ambush.'**_

 _'Ambush?'_ Kumonji thought, this voice in his head was familiar. His eyes widened and he reacted before he could even process what he was doing. Grabbing both Issei and Koneko by the wrists he threw them roughly to the middle of the Baseball diamond. As his fingertips brushed past theirs the explosion went off behind him, sending him flying face first as well.

 **"Kumonji!" "No Kumonji!"**

Akeno held her hand to her chest, hoping that he was okay. Looking down at where the explosion happened as the dust cleared two things we absolutely certain: one the blast site was both massive and the explosion forceful, and two the only reason Kumonji was still breathing was that his rook defense and sacred gear had shielded the back of his head, his spine, and as much of his body as it could without him even calling it out. The red rook lay face down as Koneko and Issei rushed over to help him up. His ears were ringing, he couldn't hear a thing they were saying, and there were multiple of everything shaking and spinning. **"-Cough cough- damn.. that sucked.. I think.. concussion.."** The two of them helped him to his feet as his sacred gear retreated into him. Having watched all of this Akeno turned to face the one who did it. The Bomb Queen herself, Riser's queen.

 **"Rias, it's Issei, Kumonji's been hit pretty bad. I'll bring him back to Asia while Koneko helps Akeno. Riser's queen is here, and I don't know how long Akeno can last on her own."** Just then, another bomb went off, followed by another. Akeno was facing off and these two were worried over him. Kumonji wouldn't accept that, he tried pushing them away and extended his wings. Before they could stop him he lept up and started flying back to where the two queens were facing off. **"Can't fly straight for shit, I'm hurt and probably can't fight too well, and to top it all off I'm definitely about to hurl. But I can at least be the sacrificial piece for Akeno to finish her opponent off."**

 _ **Three of Riser's pawns, retired.**_

 **"Heh.. dammit. Even Kiba did his job. Now I have no excuse for being such a sorry ass. I didn't even beat any of the enemy pieces."** Feeling that urge to upchuck he dipped his head, only to find that several of Riser's troops were closing in on Issei and Koneko from the front, as well as Kiba flanking around from the side. He resolved himself and steadied on, finding that Akeno was on the upper hand but running low on magic. He arrived just in time as her magic had run out. **"Akeno, stay back and recharge, I'll buy you some time."** He was in bad shape and they all three knew it. Akeno couldn't even try to heal him and she knew for a fact what he was planning on. _'I need more power.. I have to get stronger. Give me more power!'_ At that moment he called forth his Sacred gear, then focused it on his right hand and caused it to change shape. **"I can't really fight so well right now anyway, so I'll just make due with staying alive."** The gauntlet has entirely moulded to his hand, becoming form fitting with claws at the tips of the fingers and a single, slightly curved longblade extending from above the back of his hand. He takes a slow deep breath and runs in after the downed queen. With every swing he feels like he's about to pass out, and his balance is way off, but still he presses the attack. The Bomb Queen kicks off and takes to the air, thinking she can get a moment's rest since he looked out of it flying over. And she does, Kumonji holds up one finger and turns, losing his lunch and wiping his mouth. **"Now that that's out of the way.."** He grunts, jumping up high and extending his wings. His swings are more erratic and can easily be blocked by her staff, but still this pest keeps her occupied.

 _'He's not even trying to finish me, just keep me from counter attacking.. well then, that's enough of that.'_ She pushes him off, forcing him to circle around. He comes around to swing again and-

 _ **BOOM!**_

 _ **One of Rias' Rooks, retired.**_

* * *

 _ **End of Chapter 11**_

 _ **A/N:**_ _That must have sucked. also, can anyone guess the weapon Kumonji's sacred gear took the shape of?_

 _Anyway, We'll find out soon enough if his sacrifice was enough to win the rating game or not! ^^ As always, reviews please. Even if it's bad. I want to learn how i can improve. and also, Asia promised to make cookies if you do. Peace and hair grease!_


	12. Dragon vs Phoenix

Hey Everyone! Quick prechapter note i promise. Thank you all for reading up to this point and since my last chapter seemed to get such positive reception i'll try to make them all bigger and beefier like that. Second and finally, this chapter will conclude season 1. If you haven't finished season 1 or gotten started on season 2 i would stop and finish those first. Anyways thanks and have fun!

 **DxD and any other characters herein are property of their respective creators (Issei: HEY!) all rights reserved. i only made Kumonji.**

The birds were chirping, the sun was bright, and the breeze felt cool on his face. There wasn't even a scratch on him, no aches or tenderness from what surely should have put him in some kind of cast. Venturing to open his eyes, our hero finds himself under the shade of a cherry tree in full blossom, surrounded by tall soft grass dancing in waves as the summer breeze splashes over and over the rolling hills. Kumonji sits up with a groan, anticipating his head to hurt or the vertigo to nauseate him once more. But.. nothing.

 **"Sleeping Beauty finally awake I see."** With a start the young man finds the familiar dark skinned gentleman in the white suit standing, or leaning, at the trunk of the cherry tree. Almost as if it sensed his touch one by one the blossoms fell and scattered through the wind, causing blinding sunlight to filter through the bare branches.

 **"Where.. are we?"** In truth this place was oddly familiar, like a lost memory being renewed through repetition. These hills were very foreign, but he knew that he'd seen this view before.

 **"We, or more precisely you, are in purgatory."** Waiting for a response, the man in the suit only got a blank look of confusion. **"Some refer to it as Elysium, or as we in the business joke, the Eternal Waiting Room. That sense of deja vu you're getting is because this is where we found you. You ought to know by now, right? The visions you get in your head?"**

 **"How do you know about the visions?"**

 **"Because I know the truth. As will you."**

 **"What truth?"** This was starting to get frustrating. This guy had all the answers but he just wanted to dangle them in front of him to watch him leap only to pull away at the last second. **"Tell me so I can get back to my friends. Take me back to the real world."**

 **"Funny. You call this,"** he claims, holding up a small book before tossing it into Kumonji's lap **"the real world."** The redhead glares at the man for a moment, snatching the book up and examining the cover. The face staring back at him sends his mind reeling. He opens it up and studies the first page, then the second, the third forth and fifth. It was his life, everything he knew and loved from the last few months. And he wasn't in it.

 **"What is this?"** The young man shook the book in his face, now standing and aggressively posturing toward the man who had all the answers. **"This is everything that happened to Issei and I and all of our friends, and I'm not in a single one of these pages. Why am** _ **I**_ **not in any of these goddamn pages?! This is my damn life too!"**

 **"No, this was never your story."** Kumonji flinched backward a step. Somehow that had hurt more than he expected. **"You were actually a normal kid living a normal life that didn't involve devils or angels or sacred gears or aliens. You just read about them."** One by one, manga after manga was slapped against the grass and dirt at his feet. Sekirei, Fullmetal Alchemist, Deathnote, several shounen.. As each one piled up he began to piece together memories of plotlines and characters, some that he had met and interacted with just recently. They were all just characters, figments... Were they in on it too? **"No, they're blissfully unaware that the rest of their lives are just ink on paper. Just like you were moments ago. Before you were there or here, you were a high school graduate, prime of your life and ready to go to college. The very first night of your adult life fresh out of school and only just 18, you attended your first ever party. You, your best friend and at the time your girlfriend were all drinking heavily and were headed home. Your best friend walked home, you two drove."**

At that very moment Kumonji's reccuring nightmare kicked in, only this time it played out from beginning to end. The car swerved around a left hand bend, then skidded as the road turned a hard right. The brakes locked up, the car went sideways, and the two inside screamed in panic as the car rolled into the side of the hill. Into a tree. Into a CHERRY tree.

 **"...This is..?"** Kumonji leaned himself against the tree, clutching his chest and gasping for air.

 **"You made it halfway to the hospital before you died of internal bleeding. Your girlfriend had no idea. She was in a coma for months."** The use of past tense didn't escape either one of them. In truth, one was too afraid to ask, and the other debated whether the answer would put him at ease. **"Read into my words what you will, but the fact was that we had to do something with you. Your last action in life was rather selfish and stupid, could have killed another driver. Still, you were a good enough kid. Since we had no idea what to do we put you here to wait. The higher ups decided that you needed a test of character, so we put you in a world you wouldn't remember to judge your actions and determine your fate."** By now, this was getting too heavy for Kumonji to handle. He was on his knees, shaking and sweating as every memory from his old life filled back into his head. It was like a part of him long sleeping had finally awakened, but one of these truths was just a long hallucination. He knew who he was.. didn't he? **"However, nobody could have foreseen that your affinity for these things would cause the worlds to converge. Your existence alone is forcing plots to join and stories to collide, even clash. Truth be told this test is far more interesting than-"**

 **"Is this some kind of sick game? Is that what my life is to you? I don't even know you people, you tell me this story and expect me to believe it? That I've been living a lie all my life? Fuck you! My fate isn't just some rat in a maze for you to bet on. I don't want to be part of your damn game anymore. The test is over. Just send me back to be with my friends! My** _ **real**_ **friends at Kuoh Academy!"**

The gentleman just stands there, watching as reality crumbles around the young man. The schism between the psyches has been filled, and yet this is his reaction. **"Very well,"** he states with a sigh. **"Your fate from here on out is your own to control. We won't intervene anymore. But realize now, that you can never come back to us. Live this new life of yours to the fullest. Or don't. It's up to you."**

Kumonji turns to face him, but he's gone. In his stead is just the breeze, dancing over green waves of grass and budding cherry blossoms on the trees. He opens the manga for High School DxD once again, flipping over to the chapter where the rating game should be. He's still not in it, and when he finds the page that signals the start of the game, he turns the page to find the rest of the book is blank.

The redhead cracked his eyes open wearily. _'Yup, I'm awake.'_ He couldn't even open up all the way, his eyes felt tired and hurt from the bright light. His throat felt like he had swallowed, or chugged gasoline. Every joint and muscle was stiff and ached. His head was pounding against his soft warm.. _'Wait, I know that feeling.'_

 **"A..ke..no?"** He hoped with all his heart it was her. He tried opening his eyes again, and little by little the painful light grew less painful, revealing Akeno was fast asleep with his head in her lap. She seemed to be napping peacefully so he decided he might just let her rest.

 **"She stayed with you all night, you know."** Teiya? His little sister looked like she was relieved to see him. _'Who are you and what have you done with my sister?'_ Kumonji thought to himself. **"Akeno was so worried when you didn't wake up the first day. Of course, getting blown up twice during the rating game wasn't a good idea to begin with."**

 **"Couldn't help it. There was a sexy damsel in distress and I couldn't leave her with Captain Cop-a-feel. At least tell me we won?"**

 **"Actually after you went down it was a brutal beatdown. Yubelluna used Phoenix tears to heal herself to full health, and without you to keep her at bay Akeno didn't stand a chance. Kiba and Koneko tried a combo attack but barely left a mark on her. After that she took out Asia and left Issei to fight Riser until he nearly blacked out. In the end it was Rias and Issei versus Yubelluna and Riser, and Riser almost killed Issei just to get him to stop standing up again. If it wasn't for Rias surrendering, Issei might not be here today. As it is, he's still unconscious."**

 **"Oh. I see."** So it was his fault that everyone got taken out or badly hurt. As if the wakeup call from whoever that guy in the suit was wasn't bad enough they lost the rating game, everyone got hurt and Rias surrendered. _'All because of me..'_ Teiya could read his face, but nothing she said would make it better and she knew it. Instead, she just walked in and gave his hand a firm squeeze with a nod. When Akeno stirred, she decided that was the time to leave the two to talk.

~~~Akeno's Perspective~~~

She heard a couple voices talking but couldn't make out what they were saying. She had been up all night trying a healing spell to at least get him to wake up and wore herself out. Sometime in the night she had caught Teiya slipping a blanket around her shoulders and creeping out the door back down the hall to her own room. She was grateful, having a little sister to look up to you must be nice she decided. Finding the strength to wake herself she once again found that Teiya had managed to slip in and out without her noticing, but this time as she looked down she saw Kumonji blankly staring into the distance. **"You're awake!"**

~~Normal perspective~~

The redhead looked up and smiled at her, then realized that she had been hurt too because he hadn't been strong enough. He gave her a concerned look, scanning her face and what of her arms was visible for any signs of injury or hurt. **"I'm sorry Akeno, I did a stupid thing trying to buy you time in the shape I was in. I should have known better than to fight someone above my league. I wasn't even a useful sacrifice."**

The Queen was shocked, but took a breath and smiled, cradling his cheek in her palm. **"It's not your fault. At least I was able to put up a good fight thanks to you. But yes, it was reckless and a little stupid to say the least."** He laughed a little, then groaned. Being blown up twice really did suck, and he made sure that he voiced his opinion using as few letter words as possible. Having rested, she held her hands down to heal him again, but he grabbed her by the wrists to stop her. **"Please, take care of yourself first. God knows I can't- GAH DAMMIT!"** That stupid rule of not using The Words was going to kill him someday. Even when used in vain, the G word, the J word, and variants like **"Fucking Christ that hurts!"** sent him into a comic spiral of swearing followed by pain followed by more swearing. Akeno giggling into her hand got him to stop, lamenting the second migraine slightly less if it made her feel better. But what if the guy in the suit was right? If Akeno, no, if all of them were just playing a part then why would they even care about him? **"..Akeno. Why do you even like me? I'm not as strong as Koneko, not as fast as Kiba, my magic is worth crap, and even the Pervert Prince managed to accomplish more than me. Standing up to Riser? That takes major balls. I just flunked out like a loser."**

 **"That's not-"**

 **"It is and you know it!"** he snapped. Why was he so angry? She was only trying to help him, right? **"I'm sorry, I just-"**

 _ **SLAP!**_

 __That smack sent him reeling, that really stung!

 _'...that really stung. I'm feeling pain. I'm feeling a lot of things.. If I feel, then why the Hell would this world be any less real than any other? I'm here, alive. I think, I feel, and most importantly someone cares about me. I guess I have a lot to live for.'_

He reached up and touched his cheek where her red handprint was, indelible on his face for now. **"..I'm sorry, please. Forgive my stupid mistake."** He reached up and brushed the tear away from her cheek with a smile. If she was really willing to go this far for him, he would have to do no less than the same for her, and he planned to try and go above and beyond. **"I think.. I'm-"**

At that moment, Lady Grafia appeared, calling their attention to the foot of the bed. In her hand was two formal invitations for Rias and Riser's wedding in 2 days. Again, she kept her explanation rather brief, a fact that caused Kumonji to believe she had been trained that way when dealing with the affairs of the Great Devil Lucifer and any such important events. He looked down at the flyer and noticed that the back was a summoning circle that would call the guests when the time came. **"Akeno, may I be your plus one for this wedding?"**

 **"Why yes, I think I'd like that."** The two of them hugged and spent the rest of the evening cuddled together. Not a conventional first date, being blown up in the middle of a combat sport, but hey it brought them together right? He decided his past lives, real or fake, didn't matter as long as this would be in his future. Akeno had a similar feeling, but for now was just content to savor this moment.

On the day of the wedding the circles had activated. Akeno insisted that they meet up at her place and go together, to which Kumonji gratefully accepted and planned ahead. Or so he thought. He was all decked out, Silver suit, silver pants, shoes and even a ring on his middle finger. In this outfit the color came from his red button up under the silver jacket and vest, complete with matching red tie and pocket kerchief. He was almost out the door when Erisu and Teiya had _gently_ (read:forcefully) reminded him of the matching silver fadora to wear to pick up his girlfriend. Actually, now that they thought about it Erisu never asked where Kumonji was going looking all dressed up, and that freaked both of her children out a bit. _'No time to worry about that, I need to meet up with Akeno like 5 minutes ago'_ he thought to himself. Grabbing his guitar and taking a rather scenic route to a park that nobody goes to on Sundays, Kumonji tried using his wind magic the same way as that day with Phaes. To his surprise the guitar levitated, and when he stepped on it stayed in the air. Before anyone could catch his little magic act he kicked off and pulled the neck of the guitar up, surfing his way up to the clouds and around a minute before finding the shrine where Akeno lived. To be honest he considered "losing" the hat, but then he would get guilt tripped or punished somehow so he begrudgingly kept it on him. _'I look like freaking Solf Kimbley.. well, minus the sash over my shoulders but still.'_ Touching down and setting the Flying V down next to the door he knocks and opens the door.

 **"Hey Akeno, sorry I'm la-"** There before him in her panties and a half- done black kimono with her white belt around her waist. As she looks up, breasts hanging out, he slowly steps back out with a nosebleed and sheepish grin, closing the door slowly as he tries to keep his cool.

 **"Ufufufu~ why don't you just come in, you've already seen them once before.."** That woman's teasing and evil chuckles would be the death of him he knew. And they both knew he would love every second. The door slid open a crack. **"..are.. you serious senpai?"**

 **"Why not? It's not like you don't try to steal glances all the time anyway."**

 **"Yeah.. sorry about that."** At that moment Kumonji felt a lot like Issei, though it was true he had so often caught himself mid-fantasy or zoning out while watching her doing various daily tasks. He slid in, hat over his eyes as he turned to face the wall until she was done. **"Sorry, didn't mean to be so creepy about it."**

 **"I think it's kind of sweet if you notice the little things. It shows you're really paying attention."** That got the both of them blushing a bit. Kumonji was still facing the wall, and Akeno just giggled. _'Still trying to be chivalrous..'_ Some time later, having dressed, perfumed and allowing Kumonji to help with the orange bow in her hair, the two walked out the front door hand in hand. Today would prove to be rather interesting, and hopefully by the end of it the two would be one step closer together.

The two of them appeared via magic circle, hand in hand. Everyone from the Rating game on Phenex's side were there, as well as several well dressed and high class devils. Kumonji went over to get something to drink for the both of them. **"Okay, this isn't so bad. As long as nobody I know can see me in this ridiculous.."**

 **"Nice hat Cherryhead."** Sure enough, leave it to Koneko to appear silent and sleek as a cat at just the wrong moment. She looked cute he had to admit, but now he felt caught and a bit embarrassed. **"Yeah yeah kitty cat. Just don't tell Kiba or the others would you?"**

 **"Don't tell me what?"** And there's Kiba, along with Akeno who decided to meet up with all of them. Taking the hat off so his sharkfin stood up, he leaned over to offer it to Akeno. **"Do me a favor and burn this would ya? Or just knock me out, that works too."**

 **"Hey now, I think it works well with your suit."** Kiba waved it off. Never one to be impolite. The four of them had a sip of cidre, being that none of them were old enough to drink champagne. The party gets underway, the band in full swing and several couples dancing while most of the heads of houses or kings and friends of Phenex stood about discussing the results and how this wedding will be a grand unison of the two houses among other stuck up pompous things in Kumonji's opinion. _'The fact of the matter is that Rias is only doing this because she was saving Issei's life'_ every member of the Occult Research Club thought to themselves, an unspoken truth they all acknowledged without saying it aloud. Phenex arrived in grand style, bursting into flame and stepping out in a white dress gown, or overcoat. Seriously what the hell is that thing? Beside him his queen and to her right was.. wait, who was that? Red Hair, and a robe down to the floor..

 **"Sirzechs, what an honor it is to have the Great Devil Lucifer here to witness this historic day."**

 **"That's Rias' older brother?"** Somehow, Kumonji felt like that was exactly- oh right. he'd seen this before.

 **"Welcome to the Engagement of Riser Phenex, and his bride.. I present: Rias Gremory!"** Rias appeared in a white dress fit for a wedding. It pissed everyone in the ORC that Phenex was being such a flaming dickwad about his victory, as was his little sister. _'Well to Hell with it all (literally),'_ Kumonji thought. It's a party and he's resigned to live it up even if he had to do something about Riser himself. At that moment the band started playing a song he recognized. **"Oh man.."** And it was at that moment he felt a tug on his sleeve. Looking over he recognized the look on the queen's face. **"Care to dance?"** Akeno took his hand with and stepped out with him onto the dance floor.

 _'It_ _ **had**_ _to be this song didn't it?'_ She started dancing around to the beat, getting him a bit loosened up. He slowly got more comfortable, even daring to smile. This was one of the best things he'd ever done, and for once he didn't care what anyone thought of him as he danced. Anyone, but a single woman.

 _ **"Deep in her eyes, I think I see the future. I realize this is my last chance**_  
 _ **She took my arm, I don't know how it happened. We took the floor and she said**_

 _ **'Oh don't you dare look back just keep your eyes on me,'**_  
 _ **I said 'You're holding back'**_  
 _ **She said 'Shut up and dance!**_  
 _ **Don't you dare look back just keep your eyes on me,'**_  
 _ **I said 'You're holding back'**_  
 _ **She said 'Shut up and dance with me.'**_  
 _ **This woman is my destiny. She said**_  
 _ **'Ooh shut up and dance with me.'**_  
 _ **'Ooh shut up and dance with me.'**_  
 _ **'Ooh shut up and dance with me.'**_

 __As the song comes to an end, many people cheer for the band, including the two so focused on each other they don't notice Sirzechs looking them over. **"What a lovely couple those two would make."** the head devil remarks to Grayfia. Before the band can get started on the next song however the doors are kicked wide open by none other than the self proclaimed harem king himself.

 **"Bout time the perv showed up."** Koneko remarked, tossing aside her drink and stepping in to punch out a group of guards on Issei's left.

 **"Now the fun begins."** Kiba added, setting his drink down and summoning his sword. The knight was on Issei's right clearing a path through all of the spears.

 **"What is the meaning of this? Riser defeated you in fair combat, and a low level like you has no right to interrupt Riser's wedding."**

 **"It's about damn time!"** Kumonji tossed his hat into the air and ducked one of the guards storming in. They tripped over him while Akeno covered his back with a streak of lightning. Two more charged in at the two and the rook grabbed them by the neck. **"Now Kiss!"** Their heads mashed together, knocking them out instantly.

 **"I invited him."** Sirzechs spoke up, bringing the fight to a halt. **"I thought this engagement could use a bit more entertainment. Not to mention that rather poor performance by yourself and your peerage."**

 **"But.. I-it's the end result that counts."**

 **"Face it Riser, you were an embarrassment in your latest showing, against an inexperienced team no less. It took no less than yourself to finish off the king in a head to head fight, and instead you lowered yourself to threatening the life of a pawn. The house of Phenex should be ashamed. If not, redeemed."**

 **"Fine, if the Great Devil Lucifer commands it."**

 **"Very good. And if you win, Red Dragon Emperor, what would you have as your prize?"**

Issei looked over at Rias, then her brother. **"Rias Gremory. Back with all of us where she belongs."**

 **"Interesting. Do you accept Riser?"** Riser grumbled but played it cool. **"Very well, Riser accepts."**

The arena was set, Riser on one end and Issei on the other. Ravel and House Phenex gathered around to watch, and the ORC along with Rias on the otherside cheering on Issei. **"C'mon Issei!" "Choke that flaming chicken" "Kick his ass" "You can do it!" "We believe in you Issei!"**

 _ **10, 9, 8,**_ **"This is going to be fun beating you a second time."** _ **7, 6, 5,**_ **"Suck it Riser, Rias' virginity belongs to me."** _ **4, 3**_ _'He really is a pervert.'_ they all thought at the same time. _**2, 1.. Begin!**_

 **"Come on boy, fight me one on one!"** Phenex rose on flaming wings, meeting Issei's charge head on. The two clashed, fist to fist exchanging blows and kicks back and forth. Issei got knocked back as Riser floated above him.

 **"Promotion, to Queen!"** The Queen piece superimposed itself over Issei, and from there the fight became more even. The two were on nearly level ground until Riser backed away in the air and charged a pillar of flame directly at his opponent. The rook turned queen avoided and stayed just ahead of the attack, until Riser pulled his attack in favor of two smaller moving attacks that kept him at bay. **"That's it.. Time for... OVERBOOSTER!"**

 _ **Welsh Dragon, Overbooster!Balance Breaker!**_

 __Issei became encompassed in his sacred gear, the full Red Dragon Scalemail armor. As soon as he was covered head to toe, Issei powered up and attacked. The Red Dragon flew into the air above Riser, charging and unleashing a two handed dragon shot. Kumonji only grimaced as he tried redirecting it with fire only to have his arm and the side of his face burned off. He regenerated right away, only to catch a knee in the gut and a fist to the face. Riser was clearly overpowered and everyone knew it. Issei had him tossed around and it was going to be over with this last attack.

 _ **Time up!**_

 __Out of nowhere Issei's Balance Breaker disappeared, leaving him stumbling. Riser took advantage and regenerated yet again. **"And now I'm pissed."** The fight turned yet again, Riser keeping Issei on his heels or knocked off his feet altogether. Riser menacingly raised a fist engulfed in flames, prepared to drop the killshot. Rias and everyone panicked, this was exactly what happened last time. That is, except the part where Issei doused Phenex in Holy water and sent him screaming for any kind of relief. To make matters worse, Issei punched him in the face with a cross in hand.

 **"How is that even possible?"**

 **"His arm."**

Riser noticed it as well. **"You sacrificed your left arm to the dragon didn't you?!"** Riser couldn't keep up, regenerating or attacking were his only options and the pain was so intense he could only focus on making the pain go away. Issei took the chance and lay the smack down, sending the once high and mighty Phenex to the fetal position in agony. Issei moved in to deliver the final blow when Ravel stepped in and sheilded her brother. **"Enough! Leave my brother alone."**

 _ **Riser Phenex is defeated. Winner, Red Dragon Emperor Issei Hyoudo!**_

As Issei rides off on the Griffin, the rest of the ORC watches. Akeno and Kumonji hold hands without even realising it, and Kiba reaches for Koneko's hand. They all look at their respective crushes with a blush and a smile. Things would never be the same for the ORC.

End of Season 1!

Thank's everyone for Reading thus-

 **"Hey what about me?"** Asia asked the camera. She leans in and grasps Issei's arm tight to her chest. Rias gets a little jealous and holds his other arm to her chest. The sparks fly between them, and the rivalry continues.

Yup, life for the ORC has changed forever.

Thanks for reading thus far, You guys are an inspiration and your faves and follows keep me writing. Stay tuned for season 2! Peace and Hair grease!


	13. Moving On, Moving Forward

And so it begins! The next arc of DxD, and a new chapter in Kumonji's life. How exciting!

 **Highschool DxD property of Ishibumi. What I'd give to be that talented.**

* * *

 _ **"Step forward. Rise, and step forward!"**_ Kumonji was surrounded by the booming voice of someone. Whoever this was, they must be powerful as the very air trembled and the massive aura nearly suffocated the young man. Kumonji somehow found himself on the rooftop of the tallest building in the city, winds gusting every which way as the rain and lightning threatened to batter him off of his footing. _**"I said.. RISE! Your Sacred Gear calls to you."**_

 **"My.. Sacred Gear?"**

 _ **"Yes, it is I..."**_ From behind he heard a door swing open. The rook turned to face his Sacred Gear, wanting nothing more than to learn from..

 _ **"Fool!"**_

 **"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"** Kumonji sat bolt upright in bed, sweating and panting. It had been a nightmare. PLEASE let it have been a nightmare.. That top hat.. and that cane.. He felt like he would throw up. He looked down at his right hand, where his Sacred Gear had manifested as a ring on his middle finger. It had been a month since the Rating Game, and Riser's subsequent helping to a can of whoop-ass courtesy of pervert king Issei. Kumonji felt a bit jealous of his pawn best friend though, being that he could communicate with the spirit of his sacred gear and grow a strong mutual trust, even bonding over stupid things like Issei's drive to be Harem King.

He listened to see if he had woken up his family. Thankfully, everyone was sound asleep which meant he hadn't shouted out loud. Looking at his clock he couldn't believe it. 3:45 in the morning? Too early to be awake, and too close to his daily workout regiment to try and catch any sleep. _'Bite the bullet I guess..'_ This wasn't the first night he had woken from a nightmare. In fact, things like this had been happening more and more frequently. The eerie part was that his 'premonitions,' or memories, it was so hard to tell anymore, had stopped altogether. So he did what he always did when he had a nightmare: got out of bed, crept over to the garage and began his workouts early.

In truth, there was another reason he threw himself into getting stronger. Akeno. Following his bout with Yubelluna and his revelation, the rook and queen had been on a couple dates. However, Akeno picked up on Kumonji's unease and the fact that he was holding something back. _'I can't tell her. Even if I did, she wouldn't believe me. I'm not the man she deserves, but I can be the friend she needs.'_ Despite Akeno pushing and trying to get Kumonji to open up, he just never had the heart, always pushing the subject aside until they'd both had enough. Akeno didn't trust him having secrets, and Kumonji couldn't keep lying to her.

 **"I think you're a perfect woman. I just can't burden you with my problems. I guess, this means we're over.."**

A slap to the face. It may as well have been, it broke both of their hearts equally, but there was no other way. The air between them had been tense ever since. They did the best they could to not be around each other alone, or to talk about their relationship. Everyone could feel the discomfort and left them to figure it out. Rias had since moved in with Asia and Issei, and instead focused on that love power struggle.

 _'I'm here because I have potential for great good, or terrible evil. If I truly deserved happiness with Akeno, why bring up the past? Why did those stupid jerks have to go and mention my former life? I didn't want to know.. I didn't ask to know. Now I'm here playing star role for somebody's entertainment because I made a stupid mistake?'_ The rook hadn't realized that with every sentence he had been beating on his punching bag until dents appeared. His swings grew faster, less restrained.

 _'I'm not a bad guy..'_ whomp!

 _'I shouldn't be here!'_ Whomp!

 _'I never asked for this!'_ WHOMP!

 _'What did I do wrong?!'_ **WHO-** the bag broke, spilling sand out of the fist sized- hole he had just created. As he withdrew his clenched and shaking fist his head hung and he leaned against the bag, tears running down his cheeks. **"Why me? So many other people deserve a second chance, the potential to not fuck up. And I'm here, and I had to go and fall in love.. Tell me why dammit. I'm not so special."**

 **"It's because of the last thing you did."** That voice. Kumonji turned to the doorway and saw that same guy in a white suit. **"In the last moments of your life, you and your girlfriend were arguing. You both had been drinking and got behind the wheel. We weren't expecting either of you so soon, but prepared for the worst. That night, you hit a patch of black ice and went cartwheeling into the hillside. But the first thing you did, even in your haze, was to extend your arm and keep her in her seat."** The rook's eyes opened wide. He had.. saved her life? **"Unusual to say the least, but you never let go of her and probably kept her from being thrown out the windshield. Your first instinct as soon as you lost control was to protect her. You were gone as soon as the car landed on it's roof, knocked out and bleeding, but you clenched with all your strength. We lost you in transition, and when we found you, you were still a bit fuzzy in the head. So we decided to give you a new start on life. Never expected you to end up in here of all places."**

There was a long pause. This was a lot to take in. The first time hearing this was shock enough, but knowing the full story now his head felt ready to burst. There was no way he could keep all of this information in and still live a normal life. **"Can I ask you something?"**

 **"I suppose. This is your party, after all."**

Kumonji just raised his head and started chuckling, wiping his eyes. **"Do you look like Morgan Freeman because that's how I perceive you, or is that just coincidence?"** They both chuckled at that. **"I think I'll let you believe whatever you like."**

 **"Alright then, smartass."** Kumonji considered a moment. **"You said to me once that I wasn't ready to remember. Why now?"**

 **"Because we believe you were ready to make a decision."**

 **"Decision? What decision?"**

 **"A choice between the past, and the future."** The grave look on his face told Kumonji that there was a far more sinister meaning behind his words. A gravity that was yet to reveal itself.

 **"But those who fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it, isn't that right?"** This was testing very dangerous waters, but Kumonji had to see just how much he could get from this "Peacekeeper." They locked eyes, the Peacekeeper sighed and acquiesced.

 **"And here I was afraid your head was still just a big scrambled egg. Looks like your sharp tongue and quick wits are back."**

 **"As if they'd ever gone anywhere."** The Peacekeeper looked amused. **"Anyways, I've got more important things coming up in this life, so I need to live it up while I still can. Even if I did die to make that possible!"**

With a bow of the head the Peacekeeper made a driving cap appear in his hand and covered his head. **"If that's your choice. Just remember, we have our eye on you."**

 **"Yeah, well if things get x rated I expect you all to look away."** The peacekeeper turned and vanished through the doorway, evaporating into mist. Feeling resolved he put everything away, swept up the sand from the broken bag and tossed it away. Only a second after, Teiya walked in looking a bit concerned.

 **"Couldn't sleep?"** Teiya had been aware of her older brother working out almost every night and muttering something to himself. She tried to ignore it and let him work it out but tonight she decided it was enough. He looked beat, as usual, but at least he was smiling again. It had been the first time in nearly a month, and she could tell that this one was truly genuine.

 **"Yeah, I was working through a few issues.. some unresolved fallout I had with myself after that crappy rating game. You saw how I got my ass beat, I just needed some time to let it go. Besides, if anyone is gonna beat my ass it has to be you, right?"**

 **"Finally, the dumbass gets it."** She shook her head with a smile, punching him in the arm.

 **"Ow! ..Thanks sis. What time is it anyway?"**

 **"7:45."** She smirked. Her bag was already on her shoulder and she had everything she needed for school that day.

 **"Guh.. Yo- DAMN YOU TEIYA!"** With that Kumonji took off, flying to get ready and show up to school on time.

One skipped class later and Kumonji found himself once again beside Issei at his desk, resting his cheek on the cool wooden surface as he grinned lecherously about something that had happened that morning.

 **"You keep making faces like that Issei and I'll be forced to beat you senseless."**

Issei turned to look over at his best friend. **"Dude you look like shit, did you not get any sleep last night?"**

 **"Nah, but it's all good. I had some stuff to work out of my system."** Kumonji could sense danger approaching, and avoided the two perverts grabbing Issei's ear. Issei could handle himself, so Kumonji decided to go see Akeno, maybe make things right. Excusing himself as Matsuda and Motohama told Issei they were spreading rumors about Issei and Kiba being gay for each other, he had to stifle a snickerand admit that was pretty damn funny. The whole way to the club room Kumonji had the feeling things wouldn't be going over so smoothly, but it was at least worth a shot. He knocked on the door to find Akeno on her own in the shower.

 **"...Akeno? It's.. It's me. I came to apologize."** Kumonji waited. The queen caught a gasp. She was still hurt and wasn't going to let him off so easily. **"Apologize for what exactly? I had thought we were just friends silly boy."**

 **"Akeno... What I said and did was wrong. I had a few things I needed to think about on my own, and when I did they all just came back to you. You still deserve better than me, but if you're willing to let me try I can be more than I am now."**

Just then, Issei came in the door holding his hand. His dragon spirit was acting up again, no doubt. Kumonji had to rub his temples, now of all times he had to come see Akeno?

 **"Hey Akeno, you here? I need a little help with my Dragon Spirit again."** Issei spotted Kumonji by the showers and sat on the couch.

Akeno really knew how to tease. It was absolute torture. Issei was mewling and gasping lewdly, setting Kumonji's teeth on edge. She was doing this on purpose, teasing Issei because he was easy to mess with and of course to make Kumonji jealous. Every wet lick and gentle suckling made a new sound from Issei, as if Akeno were playing him like a violin. Biting his lip to keep from pummeling his best friend Kumonji just watched, vowing to give the pervert his lumps later. At the tone of the bell Akeno finished her ritual and wiped her mouth, standing before the two boys in only a tight white robe, though being that she hadn't bothered to dry herself it was very close to see-through. Issei had at one point had the balls to ask if she was going commando, and it took every bit of restraint for Kumonji not to beat him down and simply stand in the corner. He knew this was what he got for his selfish behaviour, but there were some lines you just don't cross.

Revenge, however, was often sweet and served most unexpectedly. The club meeting that night was held at the Hyoudo house, specifically Issei's bedroom. Kumonji knew his best friend quite well, and slipped back to replace several of Issei's skin magazines with ones of Sumo wrestlers, oiled up male models, and (his personal favorite payback) cosplayers like Milton in racy outfits. Payback in place, the rook took his place in the circle as Asia served everyone tea and Rias opened the forum of progress reports.

 **"Let's begin our regular meeting. This month's contract numbers are in. Akeno, 11."**

 **"Of course!"**

 **"Koneko, 10."** continued Rias.

 **"Sounds good."**

 **"Kiba and Kumonji both had 8."**

 **"That I did."** Kiba noted.

 **"I'll beat you next month Prettyboy."** Kumonji nudged the knight playfully, who shoved right back with a grin.

 **"3 for Asia."** Congratulations sounded from all around. Kumonji turned to look at Akeno while everyone was focused on Asia, but she still wasn't facing him. Oh well, give her time and maybe things can turn around.

 **"And for Issei..."** Rias took a long, drawn out sip of tea. Most likely for dramatic effect. Everyone knew what was coming next. **"Zero."**

Issei hung his head in shame. This wasn't the first time he'd been last in contracts but now even Asia had him beat. **" *Sigh* I know, I suck major balls right now."** Kumonji put his hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

 **"Now now, you just need to work harder if you want to become a high ranking devil."** Rias had a way of scolding very gently that held the carrot just past the horse's mouth. **"After all, you must really want it if you plan on achieving your goals, otherwise you'll just be a servant forever."**

 **"Yes Ma'am!"** everyone proclaimed at once. At that moment Mrs Hyoudo entered the room with snacks and scrapbooks. The next two hours of Issei's life were absolute hell. Rias, Asia, Akeno, and Koneko saw every embarrassing baby picture of Issei's including several of him running around bare ass. Kumonji took one look at a particular photo of Issei drinking milk with his bottom to the camera and nearly spewed his drink all over the wall. _'Someone kill me now.'_ thought the pawn to himself, though he was slightly relieved that one of him and Kumonji in diapers together came up. The redhead's eyebrow twitched, the only sign of life as he planned out how to get away with burning that photo to a crisp in front of a normal human.

 **"Hey Issei, who's this?"** Kiba had a photo of Issei and Kumonji playing handheld games in front of a fire with two others, all of whom had looks of pure determination as their brawlers fought to the death. Kumonji looked over his other shoulder.

 **"Oh, that's Kumonji and I with two other boys from around here. The four of us used to get together and play video games and stuff."**

 **"Uhh.. dude? Those were chicks. See?"** He pointed to the girl sitting beside Issei, in light brown hair wearing a blue baseball cap backwards. **"Her name was Irina, who used to cling to you like white on rice until the day she up and left for England and the Catholic Church. And** _ **that**_ **.."** Kumonji shifted his finger to the other girl with bright yellow hair who looked like she was way too into the game she was playing. **"That is Trouble with a capital T."** Kumonji remembered this photo, it was the one year his sister begged their mother to dye her hair blonde and she had relented. It had worked for a while, only to leave her looking like a carrot head two weeks later. That took him back to the good old days when Teiya was less serious and didn't beat up on Kumonji for the sheer giggles.

 **"Catholic Church, huh? I see. So then it's true.."** Kiba pointed out a sword in its sheath glowing in the dim firelight. **"That's a holy sword."**

* * *

 **End of Chapter: Moving on vs Moving forward**

Phew, kind of heavy stuff, but i hope you all don't mind just dipping my toe in the water for this one before we really get into season 2.

And no, that is NOT Kumonji's sacred gear... *shudders* the horrible nightmares...


	14. Consequences of Intervening

_**~~Tuesday afternoon, 1 pm~~**_

He was waiting for her. Ever since she ran out of her home, he was able to find her. There she was. Right on schedule. A young woman in capris pants and a long brown side-ponytail. That must be her. She had no idea he was there, or that she was being followed. It was Tuesday, and that meant Uzume would be visiting her ashikabi in the hospital. Her spirit had been picking up lately, and for that Uzume was grateful. Even so, the things she did just to see her beloved Chiho had broken her heart. She could never tell her ashikabi of the terrible things she was being forced to do.

Third floor, the room facing out on the eastern wall. Chiho was in high spirits today, why shouldn't she be? Uzume laughed and joked with her, sharing pocky and fresh picked apples from the local market that Miya always sent her to. Neither of them noticed that someone in a pulled up hoodie and reflective glasses had walked past their room twice now. The stalker waved their hand, signalling a second concealed person to get into position. When the sekirei leaves, they will make their move.

Nearly two hours later Uzume finally stood and walked to the elevator. The same Figure in the red jacket held the door for her and pressed the button for the lobby. _'That's strange, I never said I was going to the lobby. Maybe he's on his.. her? way out...'_ As the doors shut, Uzume noticed someone in a nun's habit walking toward Chiho's room with a small child.

She started getting a nervous feeling as the elevator stopped between the second and first floor. The figure in the hoodie and black facemask had hit the emergency stop button and turned their body to address her. She made a move to question him, to fight, whatever she had to do, but her scowl went unnoticed as he raised a single hand to stop her from speaking. From behind the mask came a deep and gravelly voice, foreign by the sound of it.

 **"They use her, your ashikabi."** Uzume's eyes went wide. This guy knew that Chiho was being used as leverage? **"Your greatest strength is also your most biting weakness. They won't stop until you've erased all obstacles, then you yourself will be erased. In fact, they're waiting for you right now. The minute you walk out those doors you'll be ambushed. I hope you have the fight in you."** With that, he released the emergency brake and the door slid open. Whoever that was stepped out of the elevator and walked down the hall. She backed away, processing what she had just heard. After all of the things she had done, she would be tossed away just like that? No, no this was the word of a total stranger who couldn't even show his face. Why should she trust his word over anyone else's? It had to be a trick, a test of faith.

Uzume stepped out the front doors and was shocked by the two faces who met her. **"You two?"**

 _ **~~Flashback: Tuesday Morning, 3:23 am~~**_

Kumonji in his infinite wisdom had stayed up very late the night before studying and cramming essential schoolwork. This schoolwork's name was Arrow, season 2 DVD numbers one through four in order. He finished his English assignment long ago and now was watching the series simply for the plot, and maybe some of the violent combat scenes. For whatever reason, his mind wouldn't shut off that night, and he had the distinct nagging feeling that he was about to miss something or overlook something important in his life. When his phone rang at almost a quarter til 3 in the morning he answered it warily, putting it on video. Matsu was on the other line, freaking out that the beta test for SAO would be ending in exactly one week.

 **"Where the hell have you been? I've had to grind my way to 9th floor boss by myself, and my XP is already at level 16. I need your help!"** Matsu mock-scolded him.

Of course! He quickly put the phone as close to his face as he could. **"Matsu! Listen to me very carefully, that game is a trap! Once the Beta is up the R &D are going to tweak it and the admin is going to pull the logout button. Once you're inside the game you're stuck until someone clears all 100 floor bosses! Do you hear me, do NOT play the live release!" **He knew it was a risk trying to change the fate of so many given the circumstances, but if he could save lives... if he and Matsu were able to shut it down from the outside.. **"I need you to get into R &D as soon as the game goes live.. please, if anyone were playing and they die in the game, they die for real! I need you to trust me on this."**

There was a long pause as he broke out in a cold sweat. The silence was tangible. He had no idea if he would save anyone, or if his telling someone would matter. Half of him expected reality itself to implode just for uttering his secret. A single drop of sweat rolled down his cheek, she must think he's insane.

 **"..Okay."**

 **"Wh-Really?"**

 **"You're a devil, I'm a sekirei. I'm not sure how you know this but if you feel it's true then I'll keep my eye on it."** Kumonji heaved a sigh of relief.

 **"Thank you Matsu. I don't mean to be dramatic or anything it's just.. I'm useless sometimes."** He scratched the back of his head before noticing the hint of sadness on the sekirei's features. **"You okay? Something happened didn't it?"**

 **"Uzume, one of our friends and a sekirei just.. left. Something about her ashikabi needing her and she hopes she doesn't have to fight us. But that look on her face."** Kumonji smiled, ready to reassure Matsu not to worry, and that Uzume would be back before she knew it. Before he could say a word he heard Matsu's computer blip, several warning sirens sounding over the line mixed with flashes of red.

 **"What's going on?"**

 **"It's the Veiled Sekirei, she's been spotted in our area and it looks like she found another victim. Thankfully this one was only taken out of the Sekirei Plan but left still alive. I wonder.."**

 **"It's not Uzume. It can't be. Your friend is still alive, I promise."**

Matsu nodded, making a fist and reassuring herself that Uzume would be fine on her own. **"Right. I** **need more information on the Veiled Sekirei, okay Monji-chan, and she's headed your way. Can you follow her, discretely?"**

Kumonji giggled like a schoolgirl and grabbed a few things. This was EXACTLY what he had hoped for. Turning away from the video chat for a moment he covered one eye with his black headband that Issei gave him, grabbed a red Assassin's Creed hoodie, threw on a pair of sunglasses he had just picked up and smiled at her. **"She won't see me coming."**

 ** _~~~Timeskip: Tuesday, 4:17 pm~~_**

Uzume was surprised to find that the two waiting for her outside were none other than Musubi and Tsukiumi. They knew something was up, and Musubi had her fists raised in a fighting stance. Uzume revealed herself in her veiled form, minus the covering over her face. She dreaded that this would happen, however she was prepared that it would have to be this way if she wanted to keep seeing Chiho's smiling face. The two exchanged blows, bits of fabric tying Musubi's arms up before the fist type would strike out and tear them just enough to free herself. Musubi's punches would always be met with a wall of cloth that would in turn lunge like a whip and snap back when it missed by the barest margins.

Kumonji sat back and watched this exchange carefully, before Uzume grappled high into the air a la spiderman with a long ribbon that caught a high drain pipe on the hospital building. Musubi was tied up and had no way of escaping, which was when Kumonji stepped in and shoved her out of the way. Uzume's fabric drill tore through the front of his jacket and the headband he had worn over his mouth, not to mention the knick he took on his chin.

 **"Hey, is that you Kumonji?"** Musubi asked, looking a bit indecent as the front of her top was torn open as well revealing quite a bit. The devil turned his head and smiled, trying to hold back the nosebleed.

 **"Of course, Musubi. The hero always shows up when he's needed most."** His cool demeanor was doused by a water arrow.

 **"Thou cretan! How darest thou show thine face again to me?"**

 **"Nice to see you too, Tsukiumi. Temper's still as short as your bust is large."** Dodging the second water arrow barrage rather skillfully he stood between the dueling sekirei. **"Enough of this fighting. I can't let either of you eliminate the other. You mean too much to your respective ashikabi."**

Those words resonated with everyone. Every sekirei paused to hear him out. In a car nearby, a man in a suit was making a telephone call that he thought was going unnoticed. In truth, Kumonji had his eyes and ears on this guy since tailing Uzume the previous night. He worked for whoever it was that had Uzume in such a bind she would fight her own best friends.

He would be dealt with shortly.

 **"Uzume, I got a call last night from Matsu that the Veiled Sekirei was on the move, so I had tailed her. You can imagine my surprise when I found out who you are, and that one of Maison Izumo's tennants attacked another of her own. Miya would bop you over the head pretty hard if she found out."** He chuckled and shook his head, before his face got serious. **"If you truly care for her, then take this chance and get her away from the Sekirei plan."**

 **"Musubi!"** Minato came running onto the scene, puzzled as to why Kumonji was here. Shortly after him two blurs whizzed past the bewildered ashikabi to where the battle was taking place. One was a short haired woman in a purple and yellow unitard who swung her fist wildly at Musubi, only to be caught fist in hand by Kumonji.

Her partner, a spear wielder in a white top, raised her weapon high and attacked from above with a downward jab that barely missed Uzume's head. She drew back as the exhausted Uzume rolled into a half-ready fight stance. Both of them were shocked however when the spear burst into flames between the palms of its owner and was tossed away like a snake.

 **"Nice aim Homura."** Called Minato. Kumonji turned and looked, letting his guard drop for a second which was all his opponent needed. She decked him with a left cross and followed up with a handstand kick that sent him headlong into a parked car. As he picked himself up he noticed a gust of wind and cherry blossoms signaling that Kazehana had arrived as well.

 **"We will be your opponents."** Kazehana beckoned.

Kumonji stood up and looked around. Kuu, Musubi, Tsukiumi, Matsu, and now two more sekirei, both elementals? **"Aren't you a lucky man Minato. Bravo!"** Tsukiumi glared, but turned up her nose at the devil. If he were less perverse, perhaps..

The four newcomers squared off, igniting the fight in no time at all while leaving the rest to pick up Musubi and Uzume and get them back away from all the fighting. Kumonji had Uzume draped over his shoulders as they limped over to the short wall at the edge of the parking lot. **"I brought a few friends with me today. They're doing their best for Chiho, even as we speak. She may not be cured when it's over, but at the very least Chiho will be healthy enough to live a long and happy life with you. And if anything ever happens, you should count on your friends to bail you out."**

Uzume's heart welled as tears filled her eyes. **"Thank you. Thank you so much.."**

 **"It's the least I could do. But, could you do me a favor?"** Kumonji wasn't proud, but the eyefull of barely dressed woman pressed against him as she set down a safe distance from the fighting had his cheeks glowing as he looked away. **"Would it be possible for you to p** **ut your t-shirt back on before my- oh.. yeah.."**

They weren't together right now. Akeno and Asia had finished upstairs and came out the front door to find two men beside two half naked women while a bunch of other women fought in tandem. To say it bluntly, they were not expecting things to be this way, even though Kumonji had described such a scenario as a possibility. As Kazehana beat down the one in the tight one-piece outfit Tsukiumi looked over to see the redhead being electrocuted by a cute young woman in a long black ponytail and a school uniform. They were dressed similarly and shared a love-hate with the unfortunate redhead. **"I doth like this woman very much. Is she a devil as well?"**

Both of the women, Numbers 16 and 18, were clearly outnumbered and outmatched, so the man watching from within the car went to lean into his horn. Before he could though, a hand bashed through his window and tore him out, silencing the would-be retreat signal. The assailing sekirei waited and waited for the signal, but it never came, and the two were slammed back to back by the wind and flame elementals. Finally thoroughly beaten, Toyotama the spear fighter and Ichiya the acrobat were held in place by Kiba and Issei while Koneko plopped the suited man front and center.

 **"Thanks for your help, guys. Sorry it was such short notice but I couldn't do this by myself. Had no idea Minato's Sekirei group would have backup too.."** The rook turned to regard the ambush party, smile fading into a threatening glare. **"** **So, you're the ones threatening innocent lives and causing pain to my friends."** He cracked his knuckles at the frightened man. **"Guess what, I don't particularly care for scum that doesn't have the decency to leave the helpless alone. You get three chances to give up the name of the person you work for and I'll let you go unharmed."**

 **"Higa! Izumi Higa! Please, don't hurt me. I'll do anything."** Before the display could get any more humiliating than a grown man in a suit and tie bawling like a child and nearly wetting himself, Toyotama broke Issei's grip and pulled a second spear from nowhere.

 **"TIME TO DIE!"** She leapt again and aimed her attack at Musubi, who couldn't move fast enough to get out of the way. At the last second, Uzume leapt in the way with a flutter of her ribbons.

 _ **Sssssschlurt!**_

Uzume's white cloth had a deep red stain as the blood pooled on her back. Musubi went wide eyed, but when Uzume got up she was entirely untouched. Devil, Sekirei, and human alike were shocked to find Kumonji had taken the spear instead. What would have been a lethal blow to Uzume's vital organs was instead a hip piercing in the male devil whose head was hung as he shielded them.

 **"I've heard of low blows and cheap shots, but I should have expected it from scum like you.."** He raised his head ever so slowly, a mad look of violence in his eyes as he grinned and glared at the woman who stabbed him. **"You done goofed."** He grabbed the spear where it was jabbed into him and grasped her wrist, enough to make it pop. One quick tug and she was met with a metal-cased headbutt that sent her reeling to the pavement. This was a side of him he had never felt before, and yet looking at the bunch who would follow a "man" like Izumi Higa he couldn't help but feel like maybe they deserved to be taught a lesson. They _needed_ to be punished.. They _would_ pay with blood.

 **"That's enough!"** From an empty space behind them all Rias had materialized and crossed her arms, rather bewildered at the display she saw. The trio working under Higa got in their car and took off, most likely not to be seen again for a while if ever. Rias walked over to the rook and slapped him _hard_ for his reckless actions, which promptly led to the young man passing out before he hit the ground.

After the King had sent Minato and everyone from Maison Izumo including Kuu, who had come down after the fight, home she called an immediate meeting of the Occult Research Club. Moments later, she had lined up everyone from the Gremory House in the Club room on the floor in front of her desk. Asia had finished healing Kumonji up and bandaging the knick on his chin when he had awoken. To say the piercing blue eyes of Rias staring back at him did little to set him at ease would be a major understatement.

 **"Nice to see you're still living. Care to explain why all of my servants ran off after school saying you needed them urgently?"** It really didn't help her boobs were so close to his face, but the serious glare on her face had him reconsidering any risky thoughts.

 **"...Prez, I need to speak to you in private. This whole day was my fault, but I can't explain it in front of everyone else. Not yet. I take full responsibility, so please let everyone else go for today in my stead and I'll explain everything you want to know."** She searched his eyes and nodded, waving everyone else away. That look on her face was one that promised pain, but at the same time there was genuine curiosity.

And so everyone filed out, leaving only the two. Kumonji sat up feeling tired and sore as he looked her dead in the face. This was it. Whether or not she believed him, he had to tell her. Hell, if angels, devils, fallen angels, and aliens were all possible why not a parallel universe? It would all come down to this exact moment, his next words.

 **"I came from a parallel universe into this world, where I once knew all of this was just a story, a figment of someone's imagination. This world that I know and love so much.. is an anime. I, I am an Outsider."**

* * *

 **End of Chapter 13**

Kumonji, you clever bastard you saved Uzume!

Can't wait to see Rias' reaction to the truth. Patience, good readers ^^

Reviews are nice, even if they're negative. and please if you ever spot any mistakes point them out. I want to get better.

Peace and hair grease!


	15. Deal with a Devil

Hello again! Time for another thrilling episode of Doing Stuff to Issei in his Sleep! Wait.. no that's not right.. Ah yes, From the Outside! Thank you everyone who read this far (seriously, to know that someone's interested in my stuff is huge boost of confidence) and of course all the faves and follows.

 **DxD Property of Ishibumi-San. I just own the guy with red hair.**

* * *

Rias was just sitting there so calmly, drinking her tea without a care in the world. She hadn't erupted or lashed out the entire time Kumonji explained his situation. In fact, she had offered that they both take a seat and have tea and cakes. The entire situation was beyond surreal. How does a servant tell his master respectfully that everything around them, the sky, grass, sofa, chai tea, the very air around them all were just thoughts made manifest with ink and paper? Not only did the rook lay out everything as he remembered, mixed with hypotheses and speculation, but he also had a hard time explaining the finer point that the worlds that he noticed around him seemed to largely consist of harem anime with a bit of ecchi theme to them, which included Issei. What scared him most wasn't the fact that she had listened to his entire story without flinching; what scared him was how they were alone and she hadn't said a single word more than five minutes after having finished listening to the outlandish tale.

 _'She's gonna freaking kill me. Or commit me to an underworld psych ward.. I wouldn't even believe me and I've lived it.'_

 **"So that's your story then."** Her sudden words shocked him out of his funk, causing him to flinch as if she had raised a hand to punch him. **"You were afraid of the consequences of telling someone about an unlikely predicament and possibly causing a cataclysm. According to what you've told me, you could at the very least be the epicenter of a universal space-time paradox, and so you push everyone away in case you're right. Is that correct so far?"**

 **"Y-Yes President."** He couldn't avoid feeling that pit in his gut grow more heavy. The way she said it out loud, he could be a walking time bomb waiting to hurt everyone around him, but on the other hand trying to get away from everyone causes just as much pain. _'Talk about damned if you do..'_

 **"I see. So to sum up, you're an.. 'Outsider'..."**

 **"Yes."**

 **"And a devil."**

 **"R-Right."**

 **"In my service. Doing as I see fit without hesitation or question."**

 **"Ah.. Yes?"**

It was at this moment he knew he had stepped in it, because Rias ever so gently lowered her tea saucer and cup to the table between them, perfectly empty and turned those deadly blue eyes to her servant. The aura around the Princess of Ruin flared, killing intent spilled out in waves. Kumonji could only gulp heavily to quench the lump in his throat. He was dead where he stood. **"Tell me then, why is it that you called all of MY servants into a conflict that didn't involve any of us, least of all without first telling me about the situation? It's bad enough you've kept secrets, lied, and hurt my best friend.."**

Kumonji raised his hand, ready for this particular moment. Still, she dodged an existential crisis in favor of what happened this afternoon?

 **"President, like I said our world isn't the only one that is at stake. Matsu, who gives me regular contracts, had a favor to ask as a friend. She trusted me to look over her family, and the Sekirei known as Uzume, the alien woman in the cloth attire, is part of that family. She was being extorted into fighting others of her own kind, sometimes to the death. I decided to act and belay any doubt, knowing I would have to face the consequences. As a devil who serves you, I should have told you what I knew, but as a friend I had to intervene before someone got hurt. "**

At this point Rias reaches over and slaps him. The sting on his cheek coupled with the look in her eyes almost seems apologetic. **"Someone did get hurt. You did. Whether or not you regard your life I do, so from now on no more stupid risks. And no more secrets, especially if you want to win Akeno back."**

Before either of them could say another word, the corner of the room burst into roaring flames, which extinguished to reveal yet another man dressed in all white. This one though was in a long overcoat with spiked flaming red hair and bright green eyes.

 **"Ah ah ah! No revealing too much information now. Outsiders aren't supposed to meddle in the affairs of other worlds, regardless of how much they mean to someone."** The newcomer bows, tugging at a scarf draped over his neck. **"The higher ups wouldn't like it if you spoil the game."**

 **"A relative of yours Kumonji?"**

 **"No, but the unfortunate coincidence is embarrassing. Judging by the red hair I almost dared to ask if he was one of your relatives, but I suppose that would be a case of pot-and-kettle."** Indeed, that face rang a bell but he just couldn't place where from. It took a moment but suddenly an image of the same man dressed in all black coat gloves and boots superimposed itself over this newcomer. **"Wait... Lea?"**

 **"Bingo!"** The tall gentleman known as Lea clapped his hands together and pointed to his temple, **"Got it memorized? Now, Kumonji, you've been a good boy so far and it's been really fun but unfortunately we have a strict policy about revealing facts ahead of time: aka, No Spoilers. While I'd normally just have to incinerate you and go about my day, which is really icky business.."** Rias stood and shielded the teen from this new threat. Lea however wagged his finger and continued, **"Easy, Big Red. While normally I** _ **would**_ **do that, it seems that Osiris the Elder whom you've been talking to previously has become curious as to how the information gets used. So here's the deal: you're going to play out the rest of your life, however long that may be, and we'll be squelching any more secrets you might leak. One more slip though, and I'll be forced to step in again."**

Kumonji just hung his head, keeping his hands in a pocket at the front of his shirt. This would be tough, not being able to help anyone out with his previous knowledge. **"Lea? You said I can't share any more secrets about what I know right? The truth is, I don't** _ **know**_ **anything. If I had to describe these strokes of luck, I'd say that the ink was being drawn off one page without me on it and used to redraw the same page as if I _were_ on it. Occasionally, I get a glimpse at fragments of the first page and enough ink to draw a new outcome. Honestly, I'd chalk it all up to sheer dumb luck at best. But if you think I could be a nuisance and spoil the fun, I want to make a deal." **

Rias looked between them in awe. How could he be making a deal with someone who just threatened his life, stay so calm and level headed knowing that they would be watching his every move? Something didn't add up; one of them had to be lying.

 **"I'll bite, genius, what's this big deal you want to make?"**

 **"You can take my memories, everything from my previous life that has to do with these worlds, and I get to keep everything from this life. I'll still remember that I'm an outsider, I just won't remember who I was or what happens next."** He smirked at Lea, knowing this would get his attention.

 **"Hefty offer. What do you get in exchange?"**

Rias stared at him, wondering what it would be that he asked for. He could have or do so much, bargaining knowledge of the future. Kumonji stopped grinning and gave him a dead glare, eye to eye.

 **"I'll tell you when the time comes. Think about it, you give me one favor, and in exchange you get the rest of my life twisting and turning under your hands. Surely your boss wouldn't mind you wiping everyone's memories in exchange for a new storyline? One that's entirely unpredictable. Think about it, if I don't remember anything, I can't swoop in at the last minute to save the day."**

Lea stopped to ponder the consequences. It almost seemed too easy. A single favor for the ability to see what's next? There had to be more to it than that. Rias for all of her wisdom as a devil and a sister to the Great Devil Lucifer was herself stumped. How could he ask for so little in exchange for so much. He had to be an idiot, there was so much at stake just giving up foresight.

 **"Deal. Buuuut.. Once I leave this room, everything known about your past life is gone. I do mean everything. Can't have you going back and cheating the system, ya know."**

 **"That's fine, but I also expect that none of you will be popping in on me anymore. Tell Osiris I've made my decision, and your little blonde friend too. Now if you'll kindly be on your way I'm sure my master here has some scolding for me on my poor negotiation skills."**

Lea laughed raucously, and with another impressive burst of flames vanished. **"Be seeing ya, small fry!"** Just like Lea said, the moment his flames extinguished there was a flash of light behind Kumonji's and Rias' eyes. The two shook their heads to come back to reality. Oddly enough Kumonji remembered every encounter he'd had with the Peacekeepers, but the discussions were all muddled.

 **"What the hell Tokumatsu! You could have done something great with leverage like that, even bought your freedom or become a king of your own house. Why did you just give everything away?"**

The rook smiled up at his master and held up what was in his shirt pocket. His phone was lit up, and center screen the words 'Message Sent' flashed before vanishing. In their absence, she saw a photo taken of Akeno and him on their first date, him carrying her piggyback with the biggest smiles on both of their faces.

 **"Now that I'm not stuck in my past, I can move on with a clear head and full heart. Of course, Lea wouldn't have known that I was also feeding him that speech to distract him from getting out key information to people who need it most. Osiris let me go instead of punishing me to the fullest extent of his power, which means obviously since I'm here nothing will be exactly the same anyway, regardless of what I say or to whom I tell it. Since I'm already changing everything, I gave specific bits of information to those who would use it best. When the time comes, those who we can count on will be there to back us up. As far as giving away so much of my past, I couldn't remember anything from this world to begin with, I was just getting lucky. That part I was perfectly honest about. So really, I just got everything for the price of nothing. Bet those Peacekeepers are pretty pissed right about now, but a deal is a deal, even a deal with the devil."**

 **"Not bad. I guess I underestimated you."** Rias sat beside him and hugged him to her. The blush inducing embrace lasted a few moments, before he looked her in the eye and held her hand.

 **"Rias, no matter what, I need you to keep this promise. Don't tell anyone that I'm not from here. I can finally be at peace with this fact, and for once in my life I feel like I truly belong. When the time comes, I'll tell Akeno myself."**

She saw the pleading look and instantly she knew that her servant was once again here. He was finally ready to be everything he needed to be, and she smiled. **"Very well. Now about you running off with my servants and causing wanton destruction.."**

 _ **"Aw craaaap!"**_

 _One hour and a very painful thousand spankings later~~_

 **"She didn't have to be so damn rough.. Oh well, at least nobody else got punished for my actions. Hmm?"** His ears twitched. Someone was following him, thinking they could sneak up on him. That could only be one person.

 **"Little bunny Fufu, I'mma gonna get you.. haha!"** He turned and scooped up a little girl in a purple dress and a headband with purple fuzzy bunny ears.

 **"Aaaaw, no fair Ku-niisan!"**

 **"Well Taba-chan, you should know that the wolverine hunts the bunny rabbit, not the other way around. What are you doing here anyway? I thought you guys were getting ready to move?"**

 **"Kasan is waiting a week, so I was hoping you would be babysitting again soon?"**

 **"Sorry Taba-chan, but I'll be by to see you off. You're going to a big fancy school soon, where you'll make lots of friends. But I can show you something really cool, okay?"** Kumonji set little Tabane down and held her hand. He'd watched over the Shinonono sisters a few times in the last year, but they were off to an all-girls boarding school starting this spring. The least he could do was give her something to remember her by.

 **"Tabane, I want to show you my guardian angel."** He unleashed his Sacred gear, letting her witness the most basic exoskeleton form. **"He takes good care of me and watches out for me when I'm in trouble. Just like I did for you when I watched you and your sister. When you guys go away I won't be your guardian angel anymore, so you have to be one for your sister okay?"**

 **"Okay Niichan!"**

 **"Cool! And who knows, when you grow up maybe you can be guardian angel for a bunch of people! Big and strong and smart, just like me"**

 **"YAY!"** Tabane pumped her fist and ran off to go play with her sister. He didn't remember what he'd just set in motion, but everything was already in place years in advance. He just walked the rest of the way home with a smile on his face.

The rook waddled into his home, kicking off his shoes at the front door and finding his mother and sister on the couch eating the remnants of dinner while watching the news.

 **"Tadaima!"**

 **"Welcome home bro, something happen at school today?"** Teiya asked as she sucked on the ends of her chopsticks. He gave her a sidelong glare at the annoying habit she had when the news flicked to a story about a mysterious crater outside of the local hospital.

 **"Yeah, you could say that."**

 **"Well it's to be expected."** Erisu chided, wickedly grinning at her son. **"After all, who said the life of a devil is easy?"**

Kumonji stopped mid-step to the kitchen with the sweat practically rolling off his face. Teiya, much the master of keeping her emotions in check, spewed her chopsticks from her lips so hard they embedded like needles in the wall above the television. Despite what she just said, Erisu kept the same cheerful smile that she had always wore.

 **"M-mum I think you're confused or something. I can't be a devil I'm just a student. Besides, I thought devils were just myths."**

 **"You can stop trying to fake it, dear. You and your sister should have known sooner, but well some things just can't be helped."** Teiya tilted her head at her mother, only to be nearly knocked across the room by a large pair of devil wings sprouting from their mother's back.

 **"THE FUCK MOM?! Y-Y-You're a Devil?"**

 **"Correct, and when you two were born you were half-devil. Your father and I weren't sure about whether or not to tell you about your heritage, but we decided to let you lead normal lives, and maybe someday when you were ready you would know. I guess fate decided that for us, though."**

 **"Wait, Dad was human? Come to think of it I don't recall much about him at all"** Teiya grumbled, picking herself up as well as the little bit of rice she hadn't been fortunate enough to eat before flinging it and herself out of harms way.

 **"Probably not, you both were too little to remember your father, but he was a great man. I still have a photo of him around here I think. Ah, here we are."** She produced a single photo of all four of them together. Erisu was as cheerful as ever, Kumonji and Teiya smirking evilly at each other, and in Erisu's arms..

 _'Seriously? Out of every anime character ever to exist.. Him? My dad is.. HIM?'_ Kumonji's face went blank with disbelief. Still, out of every anime character he'd recalled..

 **"That.. explains so much."** He looked between the two women on the couch. **"Can we talk about this later? I've kinda had a long day, so I'll just turn in for tonight. I hope."**

 **" 'Kay." "Night!"**

With a grunt he heaved himself into bed, thankful that his soft pillow and warm blanket were left messy from the morning. He just had to slip the cover over his shoulder and-

 _ **vrrrrrr.. vrrrrrrr.. vrrrrrr..**_

 _'My phone?'_

He picked it up, looking at the screen. It was Rias. **"Aw hell.."** _ **-click!-**_ **"Hey Rias"**

 **"Kumonji, we've got a live one. Meet up downtown"**

 **"On my way.** _ **-click- *Sigh***_ **Man, she already beat my ass and now we have a stray to take out? I'm not gonna get any sleep tonight. Wait, I didn't sleep last night either.."** He hung his head and leapt from the window into the moonless night. On the plus side, being a devil he instantly felt himself coming around, like a second (or more accurately third) wind. Looking down over the darkened city he spotted a small group outside of an abandoned building, so he swooped down and landed beside them. **"Hey sorry I'm late gu-"**

In fact, he had just managed to surprise the crap out of a group of junkies. They stood mid-drug deal with slacked jaws. **"Right.. sorry. Bye!"** And just like that he watched them all scatter, nearly wetting themselves before finding the right building. This time he spotted Akeno and Koneko just to be sure. Oddly enough, he had still managed to beat Issei.

 **"Nice of you to show up Kumonji."** Asia greeted.

 **"Yeah yeah, my ass still hurts from this afternoon so let's get this done quickly. Hey wait, where's Harem King?"**

 **"Speak of the devil and he shall appear!"** Issei screeched his bike to a halt with a painting on his back.

 **"Issei, there you are."** Rias waved him over.

 **"Dude, why the Hell is there a Monet on your back?"**

 **"Heh.. Just got my first contract."** The pervert replied.

 **"Nice! Of course that excludes your boyfriend Milton, right?"**

 **"Fuck you dude. And why did you have to go and replace my skin mags with that horror show?"** Issei was on the verge of tears, but Kumonji just laughed. That is, until everyone noticed a blank stare in Kiba's eyes.

 **"Kiba?"** Koneko tugged at Kiba's sleeve as Rias tried to get his attention. He snapped back into focus as they laid out the plan. Still, Kumonji knew that look. A man haunted by his past. This would not go so smoothly.

* * *

End of Chapter  
Happy Holidays guys! Probably won't get another posting up between now and Christmas or New Years, but if I do I'll just say it twice.  
I hope the explanation of Kumonji's Outsider status makes sense. If not, picture Deadpool drawing the next page of his own comic. If that doesn't confuse you more, that's pretty much all I've got.  
Til next time, Peace and Hairgrease!  
(And pumpkin pie. LOTS of pumpkin pie!)


	16. Revelations from the past

I was wrong! Two chapters in short order, sweet! Happy Thanksgiving to all, and Black Friday and Cyber Monday etc. Hope you all had lots to eat and shared your grace and thanks with everyone like i did. Now, onto our continued adventures of Captain Smartass and the unwitting harem!

 **All rights to Ishibumi. I don't make this stuff, I just make it up as I go along.**

* * *

Kiba had a glazed over look in his eyes, focused on something far off. Whatever it was it took a couple shakes from Koneko to snap him back into focus. Rias took note but said nothing. It was just a stray devil, so he would snap out of his funk she hoped. She turned her attention to address everyone at once.

 **"It would be unwise to fight that thing in tight quarters. The plan is to get the rogue out in the open so Kiba, Koneko, Issei and Kumonji go in and wear it down. If it tries to escape, Akeno and I will finish it off. Asia, you stay out here with me. Everyone got it?"** The King barked her orders with a new level of authority. Kumonji could tell that she was dealing with more than just him at the moment, which meant something else is on the horizon. Still, best keep that off to the side for now, and focus on the stray devil at hand.

 **"Right!"** they all responded as one. Issei clenched his fist and summoned his boosted gear. Kumonji held off, keeping his in ring form unless he needed it. The two strolled up looking confident at each other. **"Bet you I take it down first Pawn boy."** Kumonji said with a nudge. Issei just smirked and shook his head. **"Bring it on Chili Pepper."** The two of them exchanged determined looks, only to be surprised by Koneko mercilessly bashing the doors in as per her style.

 **"You really should consider warning us when you're gonna do that."** Issei whined.

 **"Yeah no kidding. Fists of fury like that are dangerous swung around without-"**

 **"Heads up."** Koneko stated, cutting Kumonji off.

 **"Yeah, I was just gonna say that."**

 **"No, I mean heads up."** The two rooks hit the deck, thankfully Koneko had grabbed her redheaded companion by the collar and yanked him just out of the way of a blast of acid. Issei ran over to cover them as they got up, looking around for whatever did that.

 **"I can't see shit in here!"** Issei protested. At first, all he saw was a frightened looking nude woman huddled behind some pipes. Upon seeing Issei get close she shied away, backing up behind a large boiler. When he made a move toward her however, she noticed the red dragon gauntlet on his arm and shifted into an eight legged superhuman creature.

 **"That's the rogue?"** Kumonji flattened himself to the ground and carefully placed himself against pipes on the wall with the grace of a lead cannonball.

 **"Kumonji what the hell?"** Issei shouted.

 _ **Boost!**_

 **"I don't get along with spiders, they don't get along with me, I'm just.. nope nope nope _nope_." ** The redhead obviously wasn't lying, he shivered and clutched his own arms like a frightened child before shaking his head and steeling himself.

 **"You pussy."** Koneko shook her head in condescension. She glanced over to Kiba who was once again in a trance. She called out to get his attention, her guard let down. Her mind was on her boyfriend instead of the battlefield, and the spider-like rogue on the ceiling took advantage, catching her unaware with another blast of acid. Most of the attack was concentrated in a small area but she deflected most of it with a single arm, while the rest splattered into her shirt and burned small holes that slowly grew over the left half of it. Thinking quickly she discards the shirt, fighting on despite her state of undress. **"You peek and I'll kill you pervpants."** Issei's cheeks were dusted with pink but his eyes were locked on the foe at hand.

 _ **Boost! Explosion!**_

Issei stood in front of Koneko and managed to get off a single dragon shot, though the rogue endured it with little effort. Worse, it seemed to be enjoying the struggle as its smirk gleamed in the pale moonlight. **"Damn, guess I didn't power myself up enough."**

The stray drops from the high ceiling and looks like it's about to divebomb Kiba. He's too distracted and nearly gets squashed under the creature's grotesque figure, but Kumonji steps in, a single oversized Claymore-like blade extending from his sacred gear above his wrist and through the abdomen. **"Wake up, Princess! I won't save your ass a second time."**

 **"R-Right"** Kiba draws his sword and cuts off one of the devil's stray arms. The monstrosity writhes and squeals in pain but scampers from wall to wall, picking up on the group's lack of concentration. As if on cue, Kiba's footing failed; a result of his careless swing of the sword left his trainer caught between rusted lead pipes.

 **"What are you doing Kiba, stay focused!"** Koneko chided. But it was too late, the rogue had knocked the knight over backward and was face to face with her next victim. The only thing holding it back was Koneko, who had it by the leg and pulled back just as it lunged.

 **"Do I need to slap a bitch?"** Kumonji took the arm that was cut off and backhanded the stray through one of the broken high windows, right into Akeno's charging lightning spell.

 **"I'm all over it Rias."** The Priestess of Thunder sends several small bolts of magic through the enemy as her cheeks burn with joy. That playful giggle that promised pain rung through Kumonji's ears, and he couldn't help but watch in awe the girl he was so sure he loved backlit by the pale moon. Just for the hell of it, she fries the creature again, allowing it to fall before Rias as she herself descends slowly.

 **"Wanton devil, you've abandoned your master in pursuit of your own desires and have so corrupted yourself. It is the last mistake you make, and for that you deserve to die a thousand times over. By the Marquis of Gremory, you are no more!"** With that Rias summons her power and annihilates any evidence that such a stray had ever existed. At that moment Kumonji, Issei, Kiba and Koneko walk out of the building.

 **"I can't believe I touched that spider thing.. Oh hell never again never again..."** While Kumonji is shivering and swearing Akeno lands beside him and pats him on the back with a smile. **"Poor thing, her heart was so lost you couldn't even call her a devil anymore. But now the mission is complete."** Issei pumps his fist, then shivers at the idea of ever looking like that. **"If that happens Issei, I'll squash you myself. *shudder* I can't stand spiders."**

Asia runs up to Koneko and begins healing her, also using her magic to piece together the fabric of her shirt. The whole group looks up in shock to see that Rias had slapped Kiba.

 **"Think you've got it together now? With mistakes like that you put everyone in danger."**

 **"I apologize. It won't happen again."**

 **"Kiba.. what's going on? This isn't like you. Please talk to me."**

 **"...Nothing, I'm just having an off day. If you'll excuse me."** Without another word, he turns to walk away. He gets a decent distance away from the building when he feels a hand on his shoulder. It's Kumonji, and his face is silhouetted by a street light.

 **"I know how it feels to be haunted by a past you can't change. It follows you everywhere, and no matter what it is that made you act like this, you should know that the future is always here to erase who you were. I.. We.. are here. For you."**

Kiba's eyes widen. They both have the same look in their eyes. Could it be that someone else knew what he was going through? For a moment he considers..

 **"No. Thank you, but devils are by nature selfish beings."**

 **"That doesn't mean we can't be self** _ **less**_ **when it comes to our friends."**

 **"Friends huh? I appreciate the passion, but something has recently come to my attention. A purpose,** _ **my**_ **purpose."** Kiba bowed his head. _'It wouldn't be right for me to have friends. All I've ever wanted was revenge. If I were to involve everyone else they'd just get hurt, or get in my way. I have to do this my way, and if that means doing it by myself, then so be it.'_

 **" 'Your purpose' huh? What would that be?"**

 **"I'm going to destroy Excalibur."**

 **"Excalibur? That's what he said?"** Rias asked. She turned to face the ORC who were assembled in Issei's room. Koneko and Akeno sat atop Issei's bed, Issei and Asia sat in a beanbag on the floor, and Kumonji sat against the wall as he filled them all in on his private chat with Kiba.

 **"That's what I heard."** Though when he thought about Excalibur for whatever reason that horrible nightmare Kumonji had would replay. The worst was when HE was dressed in the tophat dress jacket and cane.. Oh the nightmares. **"He said he was going to destroy Excalibur, by himself if he had to. I fear that if the stories of King Arthur or any other lore about it are true, then this sword would kill him before he could so much as scratch it."**

 **"It's true Holy Swords are nasty and dangerous when it comes to devils, and simply touching one burns a devil immensely. If a devil is unfortunate enough to be cut by one it could mean instant death in some cases. In all honesty, a Holy Sword could annihilate a devil."** Rias explained

 **"So if Kiba's going after this Sword then he could be seriously hurt right? The way he seemed so out of it.."** Issei looked over to Asia. **"Is this Excalibur really that dangerous."**

Asia could only nod in reply. She'd of course heard the many stories of Holy Swords and purification rituals. **"It's kind of intense. Very few people have ever even held a Holy Sword, let alone used one. Among those, Excalibur is most famous."**

 **"However, years ago the sword Excalibur was broken into pieces and reforged into separate more diverse weapons that would require less divine power and strength to use. As such, a project was put underway by the church to teach a new legion of young soldiers to use holy swords and fight devils. It was known as the Holy Sword Project."** Rias had that look on her face. Kiba's look. She knew something about why he was so out of it, and now they all would as well.

 **"The church must have kept that super secret because I've never heard of that before, even when I was there."**

 **"It was, partly because the project failed completely. Not a single person was raised capable of using a holy sword, and almost everyone who underwent the project died. Kiba barely survived the project."** Rias finished her statement, only for Issei to jump up and pull out a picture from the other day, with Issei the Tokumatsu siblings and the other girl.

 **"I think I know what set him off. The other day when I showed him this photo he took one look at that sword in the background and started freaking out. I just remembered she came around us and her parents offered to take us to church. Like, a LOT. It was freaking annoying."**

 **"So that settles it,"** Rias sighed. **"There's no mistaking it, that really is a holy sword. Not nearly as strong as Excalibur but still. Now that the predecessor is gone I had hoped.."** She stood and clapped her hands twice. **"I think that's enough for today, we'll meet up again tomorrow."** As Kumonji filed out he swore out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of Rias in her uniform top and panties, as well as Asia taking off her skirt in front of Issei. That image, however, was quickly replaced by the deathly look of mixed pleasure and sadism that was Himejima Akeno, smiling a smile that promised Kumonji pain.

 _'I think she likes me.'_

 _ **Slap!**_

* * *

 **End of chapter.**

Woohoo! mini chapter!


	17. Sidetracked

Hello again everyone! Thanks to the holidays I'm getting a two week hiatus from work. So first things first, I'll have gone back and edited a few chapters for spelling and grammar errors (they really needed it) and now this new chapter. Excited! Anyways I've decided on the pairings for the rest of the series and _finally_ come up with an idea of who and what Kumonji's sacred gear will be. No spoilers, but I'll start dropping little hints here and there. As always, reviews and such are appreciated, and thanks so much for reading.

 **DxD is property of Ishibumi-san. Kumonji's mine though. I own almost nothing else!**

Somewhere, high in the hills on the oustkirts of town, two cloaked figures overlook the glowing city lights from the dismal pouring rain. The wind gusts and rustles the trees overhead as the two cloaked figures make their way through the heart of the city and up the steps. The stop at the doors of a forgotten chapel, shaking off the downpour as they step over the kicked-in door. Broken stained glass windows litter the floors alongside the splinters of once-solid wooden pews as the two march to the altar. The interior is in ruins as they examine scars of a battle and what little art remained intact after time and weather had gotten to them. To say the place was in shamble would be a gross understatement, given the damp smell and creak of the beams with every subtle whisper of wind. At the alter stands a half of a cross, battered and hanging by a thread from the pedestal on which it stands.

 **"This is where we were sent? I'd say that utter ruins describe it,"** the one on the left proclaims in a hushed feminine voice.

 **"Rumor has it that there was a disturbance here recently; a great battle from the looks of this place."** The second figure, also a lady, reaches out a gloved hand to touch the stone that once covered a hidden tunnel leading to an underground chamber. The feeling was unmistakeable, devils were here. **"We're here to investigate, but supposedly there was a fight between a fallen angel and a devil."**

 **"It's getting late."** The one weilding a bandaged sword on her back removed her hood and sat herself on one of the few remaining pews. Between her cold eyes and the indifferent look on her face the tall bluenette radiated fear from every angle as the lightning flashed through broken glass. **"Are you absolutely sure this is the right place?"**

 **"Oh for sure! After all..."** The second one reveals her face as well. Lithe with bright eyes, the most innocent smile, and chestnut hair done up in twintails falling behind her she flourishes her wrist and produces a photo of four children gathered around a fireplace, playing handheld gaming devices. Two brown, one blonde, and one redhaired boy. **"My family came to church here like all the time!"**

 **"Hey Mom, since you're a devil too, maybe you can help me figure out something. Teiya and I are both rooks in the evil pieces system, so does that mean you were a rook too?"** Just to hear him say out loud that Erisu was a devil had Kumonji in the middle of an identity crisis.

 **"Well actually no, you see evil pieces are assigned their place based on their strengths and combat advantages. You two always were resilient and headstrong, not to mention you fought with each other so it's only natural that you became rooks because you both strive to get stronger and protect each other. Me, I was a bishop. A pure blooded devil and an only child. Your grandmother and grandfather taught me all about using my magic to outsmart outwit and outlast my enemy. By blood, most of our family has been either Rooks or Bishops, with a few wild surprises here and there. Unfortunately though.. During the last battle of the Great 3 Way war, your grandparents fought and disappeared without a trace. At the time I was still a little girl, unable to take care of myself so I ran away and hid here in the human world where I was raised by a kind and gentle family."**

 **"Oh.. I'm sorry mom.."** The news that the only other remaining family was long since wiped out hit pretty hard. Even so, perhaps learning to harness magic from a bishop could lead to some wild tactical advantages later on. **"Hey mom, will you teach me? I want to get strong and protect everyone I have left. You're all important to me, so I was hoping you could teach me some of our family's secret techniques or something."**

Erisu blinked and looked at her son in awe. Teiya was looking between the two when she cleared her throat. **"Me too mom. I can't let genius here upstage me for the rest of my life, ya know."**

 **"Just curious, but what** _ **are**_ **our family traits? Like the House of Phenex is known for their fire elemental affinity, House Gremory their destructive powers... Does Tokumatsu House have any claim to fame?"**

Erisu smiled at the ever so gently. **"Nope."**

 _ **"NOPE?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN NOPE?"**_

 **"Our family is remarkably strong willed and resilient, tough as they come. But, we don't have much in the way of abilities. The last great treasure we had was your grandfather's weapon that gets passed down from generation to generation. The Sacred Gear known as Thousand Arsenal. It could provide a full body shield, or create a great weapon of terrible destruction. Each weapon and armor is only as strong as the one who carries it, and thus it can create anything but only the head of the family is bonded to it. Still, it was lost with your grandfather, so I doubt you'll need to know much about that."**

Up in his room, Kumonji glanced at the ring on his finger and considered the possibility. He poured some of his power into the sacred gear, and a single gauntlet appeared on his right hand. The form was smooth, unlike the fight he recalled with Yubelluna when it appeared a bit more distempered and dark. Focusing on changing it's shape, the rook was able to retract the fingers of the gauntlet for a thicker, spiked caestus form. _'Could this be the Thousand Arsenal? Come to think of it, Issei's sacred gear talks to him. Maybe I should try talking to mine'_ The thought had occured to him before as well. At that particular moment, his phone rang and he picked it up to find that one of his friends was on the move late at night. His sacred gear would have to wait a little longer, he got his coat and took off into the late night downpour.

Kiba strode through the rain alone, wandering the streets looking for any sign of holy swords. Issei and Kumonji lived near one, and plenty of people went to the church. It was only a matter of time before his devil senses picked up the chilling nature of a holy sword.

Excalibur..

Just thinking about Excalibur had his blood running cold, back to that day in the snow.. No, no this time would be different. He wasn't the helpless frightened child he had been raised to be. He could fight. He _would_ fight, and he would win. Clenching his fist he continued on, oblivious to his comrade watching from overhead. Kumonji had suppressed his power and was keeping close eyes on Kiba. Something just didn't feel right about letting him wander alone. As fate would have it though, Kumonji's phone vibrated in his pocket, two pulses signalling that he had a summons.

 **"Dammit,"** he uttered under his breath as Kiba made a left turn down a narrow road. **"Sorry Kiba, I'll have Matsu track your number again as soon as I take care of this contract."** The rook relented and opened a magic circle, porting away from his watchplace.

Below, Kiba took no notice as he was already around another bend, stopping to pay for a can of coffee from the vending machine. It would be a long night for him, so this one boost of energy would be plenty to hold him over.

 _'I'm sorry Kumonji, Issei.. Koneko. It wouldn't be right for someone like me to have friends. I don't deserve that. And until I destroy Excalibur, I can't run the risk of you all getting hurt for me.'_ Suddenly the devil was snapped from his thoughts back into reality as a man in priestly garb turned the corner, gasping and clearly trying to escape something.

 **"P-Please.. Help m-** _ **aaaalk!**_ **"** His last word was cut short by a very large and crooked blade stabbing through him. The blade was curved, and it zigzagged at the bottom where the actual blade met the handle. The priest fell, and who was behind the attack but Freed.

 **"Yoohoo, neener neener! It's been a while hasn't it? It's nice to see the playboy of the scum underworld has come to pay me a visit. And here I was starting to think you'd forgotten all about little old me, I mean really who do I have to kill to get any attention around here?"** The maniac priest let his tongue loll out of his mouth as he wagged the sword high overhead.

 **"So, Freed Sellzen shows his pitiful face again. You should turn tail and run if you want to live, I'm afraid you've caught me in a bad mood."** Kiba stood his ground, eyeing the priest as he sways and holds his own shoulders, feigning hurt.

 **"Such a wonderful reunion; it's bringing a tear to mine eye, why the only more wonderful thing I could think of than killing devil scum like you is wiping out all of your friends at once. Especially that loudmouth red dragon interloper and the tall red headed pain in the ass. I have to say though at least his sister is cute.."** Freed's creepy pedo comments were cut short, rather literally, by Kiba's holy eraser. Same cut, same cheek as before in the church.

 **"That's my friend's family you jerk. I won't have you talking like that about anyone again."** Kiba flinched once he saw that the sword Freed was so carelessly waving about was no less than one of the fragments of the holy sword Excalibur. _'I have to finish this quickly.'_

The two of them raised their weapons high with a mighty yell. They met in the middle, swords clashing and ringing in each other's ears as they glared at each other.

 **"Tokumatsu Kumonji, a devil at your service. What can I do for you tonight?"** Hard though it was, Kumonji put on a fake smile and waved at the gentleman whose den he found himself in. It was a fine apartment, lavish in its own spartan way. There was only the bare minimum furniture here, as if he had just moved in recently. _'That can't be right though, based on the thin varnish of dust in here. Not only that, but there was something rather large hanging on the wall here..'_

 **"Well well, seems I've found an odd assortment of devils from this one pamphlet. The last one I had over here was a bit shorter. I'm assuming you come in all shapes and sizes then?"** The summoner was a gentleman who looked to be about his late thirties, dark hair with highlights around the edges of his shaggy bangs. His skin was fairly tan, made all the darker by the gold and black dress robe he was wearing as he invited Kumonji to sit. Still, something about his had the back of the rook's head buzzing.

 **"Last one?"** An image of Issei on a bike carrying a huge painting flashed through Kumonji's memory. **"Oh you mean Issei, the pathetic one who can't be summoned by a circle like I can. You hired a devil twice in one week?"**

 **"Hey what can I say? When a guy needs a drink he needs a drinkin' buddy. So, how about it?"** The gentleman offered a smile and a hand to shake.

 **"Listen Mister, uh.."**

 **"Azazel, please."**

 **"Mister Azazel, technically I'm still a minor. I shouldn't."**

 **"Aww man, your buddy said the same thing. Oh well, it can't be helped."**

 **"...Maybe just one. But I'm only doing this for the contract. Frankly speaking, I'm not afraid to beat ass if I even so much as feel woozy after one drink."** _'Wait, no, I shouldn't. I'm a devil but I have a low tolerance for alcohol.. Don't I? No, I've never had any before.'_ While he was having this internal struggle, Azazel poured his own glass of whiskey first so Kumonji could see that nothing was being tampered with. Accepting the drink, the devil found that the burn was intense, but there was a certain odd sweetness that seemed familiar. It didn't take long that Kumonji and Azazel finished half a bottle of top shelf, swapping stories and answering questions. At one point it was even mentioned that the rook had a familiar.

 **"Heeeeyyy Phaes! Come say hello to mister Azazel won't you?"** The rook clapped his hands and made a summoning hexagram, allowing the now foot-thick serpent to pour out and coil on the floor. The serpent turned and nipped at Kumonji, who was just numb enough that he didn't pay any attention to it. **"Phaes here is an ouroboros, who bites me sometimes to give me immunity to poisons and venoms and such."**

Phaes, having injected the third level of concentration into Kumonji's blood, spotted Azazel and recoiled. In a puff of magic smoke the serpent took on a humanoid appearance, a young girl with honey yellow eyes and shoulder length olive green hair. She tightly gripped Kumonji's sleeve and hissed at Azazel. **"Big Brother, that'ssss Azazel, one of the mosssst feared Fallen Angels known to Devils.. What are you doing in his houssse?"**

 **"Fallen.. Angel?"**

Azazel didn't seem to be phased by the fact that he'd been found out. In fact, he seemed intrigued, wondering what would happen next. To both his and Phaes' surprise, Kumonji took a seat, set his empty glass down, and looked him dead in the eyes. **"What are you gonna do now kid? You have the numbers, two on one."**

Phaes gulped nervously, Azazel staying perfectly still, like a spring coiling tighter and tighter before it snaps loose.

 **"Let's you and I have a talk."**

End of Chapter 16


	18. Chance Encounters

Season's Greetings all! Hope you had a Merry Christmas and/or Happy Hanukkah and didn't get TOO many presents, or end up sloshed. If you did, well then at least you had the holiday spirit! About taking this long to put out another chapter, I'm sorry and let's just say I forgot how busy holidays can get. Enough rambling, on to the Fic!

 **Ishibumi and All DxD characters not my property. I only make up stories, and two thirds of the people in Azazel's house.**

* * *

Kumonji and Azazel stared at each other blankly for a moment. Phaes, shifting uncomfortably, had positioned herself behind Kumonji. Kumonji knew she was doing it so he would hold her back, but she would insist that her temper was well under control.

 **"So.."** Azazel finally broke the tension. **"I take it you don't plan on killing me right away, or perhaps you're just waiting to see if you can make me crack and beg for mercy that you don't sick your companions on me."**

 **"Actually Azazel, you invited and summoned me, if I recall correctly. That would mean you knew the possibility of being found out existed, especially since I'm a bit more perceptive and powerful than Issei. Combine that with the fact that you could easily have drugged and killed me with the liquor means you knew I wouldn't be so hasty as to fight you, and you wouldn't tip your hand either just to kill some piss-ant low rank such as myself. The fact that Rias Gremory is my master may have something to do with that as well, I'm not sure."** Kumonji watched him carefully for any tells or subtle reactions, but Azazel only smiled.

 **"Hahahahahaha! Now that's rather astute from a Rook, and here I thought you were all slackjawed meatheads. I joke of course, but it's so funny, being found out by a relative newbie like you."**

The rook deadpanned and looked away. **"Gee, thanks.. and here I was actually starting to like you. At any rate, you wanted a drinking buddy and a devil to talk to and maybe get some inside information. I hope I didn't give away too much but a deal is a deal, and since neither of us feels particularly hostile toward the other I can only ask why you'd try something so risky, getting close to a devil isn't exactly something you do on a whim, least of all if you're a fallen angel or an actual angel."**

Azazel shot an odd look at the young man. **"It happens more often than you'd think, not to mention closer to home. But I think that's a story for another night. I think I'll be seeing you soon."**

 **"Yeah, but just remember this: I won't tell any of the others who you really are, but if you try anything, well.."** His sacred gear deployed, drawing back from the fingertips and forming a single blade that extended over the back of the hand to a very fine point. **"Use your imagination."** With that the Devil and his familiar walked back out into the rain.

Under the dim lighting Azazel grimaced. He knew that weapon well. **"Thousand Arsenal huh? It's been too long."**

~o~

Across town, the fight between Freed and Kiba was still raging. Neither side had the advantage, even though Kiba and Freed had hit each other several times. Kiba's several wounds were seeping with black steam as the light of Excalibur burned him. Both of his arms felt like they were filled with burning iron, and his speed was suffering.

 _'Dammit, it's all I can do just to not black out. But I have to kill him and now.'_

 _'How can this devil scum still be standing? Excalibur may be weak but with all of those cuts burning holes in him he should be poisoned from the inside out by now.'_ **"No matter, Freed can always kill you slowly and savor the flavor! AHAHAHAHAHA!"** The priest swung for Kiba's neck, but the devil rolled out of his way and stumbled to his feet. His sword Holy Eraser dragged through the puddles behind him. Thinking quickly he flung the cold water at Freed who managed to dodge the follow up attack and only lose a few hairs from his bangs. Freed regained his stance only for Kiba to stomp his ankle and send him face first into the pavement. **"That's CHEATING!"** shouted the priest, who clutched his foot and stood as he cut into Kiba's thigh.

 **"That's what devils do!"** Kiba asserted, flailing as he tried to keep himself upright. His face betrayed how much pain he was truly in, made worse as the lightning flashed overhead. In that brief instant of blindness Freed had closed the distance, but Kiba got one good swing in and mitigated the otherwise deadly attack. They both had been cut diagonally across the chest and were bleeding pretty badly. The blood washed and mixed with the rain toward the gutter. At that moment, Freed noticed a magic circle beside his ear, a message from one of his allies that he was to fall back. **"Oh shit, and I was having fun too.. Ta-ta!"** The priest backed away and took off out of sight with the help of a flash bomb.

 **"Yeah, you'd better run.." T** he Knight's strength was failing fast, and the pavement was coming closer to his face. The last thing he recalled as he passed out from the pain was a pair of hands catching him and the faint sound of footsteps as he was carried off.

~o~

The next morning had Issei grumbling in discomfort as he found his arms were too heavy to lift. Not only that, but being pulverized under the combined weight of Rias and Asia in a very scandalous and compromising position had really put him into fits. He was feeling more perverse today than usual for some reason, and when the sunlight hit his face and he opened his eyes he knew why. Laying there under his sheets were Rias and Asia, each dressed only in their birthday suits and clutching one of his arms. Silently praying to whatever universal power that made this happen to never let this end, he looked between the two of them to see if they were still fighting. Not only had they resolved the issue, they had both slept comfortably and got out of bed to make breakfast for the Hyoudo family together.

 **"I don't know what that was all about but at least they're getting along. Not to mention they were both naked and in my bed at the same time. I'm really one step closer to being.. HAREM KING!"**

Across the street, laying in bed Kumonji awoke lazily, deciding for some unknown reason that Issei needed to be smacked across the head. **"Phaes? Can you come here please?"** Phaes had stayed in the human world last night due to the cold and the rain that had soaked her to the bone. Since reptiles are cold blooded, Phaes needed to warm up, and so she was laying in front of the space heater in her humanoid form, wearing only her underwear and white silk socks. **"Phaes, I won't ask you again."** The devil cared deeply for his familiar, but the laziness and arrogance were two parts of her personality he wished she could lose.

 **"Fiiiiiiiine."** The serpent stood and dressed in her thankfully dry clothes, annoyed that her fake sleeping had been so easily uncovered. **"What can I do for you Big Brother?"**

 **"That house there? Issei's house, I want you to get in his room and bop him over the head with a frying pan. My pervert sense is tingling all over."** Kumonji could hear that he was deep in conversation with Ddraig, but that suddenly erupted into a monologue by Issei about his dream to rule over a vast and powerful harem. **"I stand corrected. _Bash_ him over the head with a frying pan, he deserves it." **

A quick salute and trip to the kitchen and Phaes was out the door and sneaking up to the second story window. Slithering her way into his bedroom Phaes made the pervert yelp in shock, and the next few moments rewarded Kumonji with the sweet sound of cartoon-esque violence and feminine shreaking. When the olive haired familiar returned she dropped the dented and warped pile of metal at his feet and panted. The rook also noticed that she had the faintest tinge of pink in her cheeks. **"Everything okay?"**

Phaes cleared her throat behind her fist and diverted her eyes. **"Yes. He's truly a pervert."** With that and not another word, she returned to the familiar forest, leaving Kumonji to prepare for the day.

~o~

 **"Karaoke? Thanks, but if you're gonna use me to boost your status and seduce women I won't be singing. Besides I don't like singing in public."** Kumonji looked away and started to walk to class. Issei, Matsuda and Motohama were basically begging him to go along with them so they could pick up girls but he wouldn't have any part. At that moment Matsuda chose a sentence that hit a nerve.

 **"Sounds to me like you're just afraid you can't sing! Bitch ass"** Kumonji stopped midstep, but ignored it and kept walking.

 **"Actually, Kumonji and his sister played in a band in middle school. They were pretty good but neither of them liked having to stay up late and rehearse."** Issei put in. **"But in any case we should forget about the wet blanket and just go to the one downtown."**

 **"No way"** Claimed Motohama, **"we should go to the one by the station, they always have new inserts and great contests."**

 **"I always love a good** _ **insert**_ **."** from behind him, Kiriyu grinned lecherously and sent the three perverts jumping. **"You three are having a contest to see who gives the best insert?"**

 **"We were talking about hitting up the K-roke after school."** blurted Matsuda, trying to regain his composure.

As the four of them debated on whether or not Kiriyu and Asia would join Kumonji distanced himself further. Down the hall and out the door he went, finding the same old cherry tree where he first met Akeno. He began reading under the shade like he used to, but for whatever reason he couldn't get comfortable. There was a constant twinge, like a shiver that wouldn't stop crawling up and down his spine. After 10 minutes of incessant displeasure he finally closed his book and went to find the source, only to have the sensation grow more frequent and urgent as he made his way to the newly cleaned clubroom.

 **"Wow, this place really is spotless.. the floors even glisten with fresh polish."** As he admired the sparkling floor the door to the club room opened, revealing one Miss Himejima smiling brightly at him, and on the floor between her feet the reflection up her skirt that sent him to clasp his bleeding nose and turn his head. _'It was an accident, I swear! How is one devil this unlucky?!'_ **"H-hey Akeno. Thought I'd show up early today."** The two walked inside and Akeno went to get the usual cart of tea and snacks, but Kumonji passed her by and went to get it for her. **"Please, let me.."** He wheeled it out and smiled at her, only to freeze when he saw the two cloaked women, one of whom was setting a large sword wrapped in bandages beside her seat on the sofa. The feeling he had earlier came back and his gut tightened. _'The church? What are they doing here?'_

At that moment he heard Issei and Asia in the hallway, discussing the Forbidden room just past the clubroom. He turned back to face the two churchgoers and felt a sense of deja vu. There was something very familiar about one of them, but he couldn't quite..

She turned and faced him. That brown hair, those eyes, that innocent smile.. **"Kumonji? Is that you?"** Of course. From the photo, that little girl was now.. wow.

 **"Irina?"**

 **"Oh wow it really is you! It's been so long I can't believe it!"** She lept from her spot to hug her long lost friend. However, in the midst of her hug-tackle the cross around her neck stamped on his and began to burn him as he grimaced and tried not to squirm in pain. That, however, proved impossible and tears welled in his eyes. **"Oh no, my cross burned you? So you're really a devil.. how awfully tragic!"** In the corner of the room, a somewhat jealous Akeno giggled and mentally pumped her fist. _'That's what you get for letting her hang on you like that!'_

Thankfully the opening door interrupted the little reunion, causing the exasperated rook to tumble to the floor in pain while Akeno healed him. Behind the two of them was Koneko, who showed up late for the first time in a long time, not to mention she looked a bit tired.

 **"Koneko, are you alright? Where's Kiba?"** Rias inquired to the nekomata. She just brushed off the questions as she took a seat and picked up one of the caramel apples.

 **"Looks like someone decided to take the entire day off. Must be nice."** Koneko stated with straight face. In fact, she had saved him last night when he collapsed from his injuries. She took him home and did her best to purge any traces of the holy light inside of him, but when she awoke he had left. No explanations, or apologies. Just a simple note: "Thank you."

Shaking her head back to the present, Koneko found the rest of the Gremory peerage save the pawn and bishop in rank opposite from the two cloaked women.

 **"Prez, do you think that Kiba being gone has something to do with what we talked about last night?"** Asked Kumonji.

 **"Yes. Remember how I told you that Kiba was part of the Holy Sword Project? What I didn't tell you was that there were other children besides him, and before him. At the time the project was ceased, there were no children capable of using Excalibur alone, the sword was broken into several pieces and reforged into lesser versions that were more easily handled. As of now, there are seven Holy Swords that go by the name Excalibur. Isn't that right?"** Rias gestured for the members of the church to take over here.

 **"Yes, and of them six can be accounted for. Three of them are still with the church thankfully, but the other three were stolen by Fallen Angels. The church fears that another Holy Sword project may be underway, and if the Fallen Angels were capable of such treachery, the consequences could be unthinkable. Unfortunately for them, the entire project was a failure. None of the children raised to wield Excalibur ever were able to adapt to its strength, and thus the project was deemed a dead end."** The bluenette known as Xenovia stated.

Rias interjected again. **"Those in charge of the project decided to dispose of Kiba and the others, despite them being on the verge of death. When I met Kiba, he was the only one to make it out alive, if you could call it that. His will to live led him crawling through heavy snow just to get away. I felt that such passion for vengeance and survival would be useful and could be channeled to better purpose. Ever since, he's vowed to avenge his friends that he's lost."**

Irina shifted uncomfortably. **"The story is tragic, but no righteous member of the church would order such a thing. God will punish all of those who deserve it, I assure you. Which brings us to why we're here. One of the fragments of Excalibur has gone missing. Or more accurately it was stolen."**

 **"We believe that it was stolen by a priest who goes by the name of Freed Sellzen,"** stated Xenovia. Kumonji clenched his fist and bit his lip to check himself. She disregarded his reaction and went on, **"All we ask is that you devils stay out of it. This is a matter for the church. We made the mess, and intend to clean it up without any leaks."**

 **"Your terms are agreeable, we'll stay out of it."** Rias said, standing. **"If there's nothing else, I'll kindly ask you to leave."**

The two graciously stood and left, allowing Sona and Tsubaki in to have a quick word with Rias. **"Oh, I see I'm too late. Rias, would you mind terribly if we were brought up to speed?"** The heiress to the Sitri watched as the other visitors left in a hurry. Kumonji was already floored and processing what had just happened, now Rias was dismissing everyone but Akeno to go home for the day. He just managed to catch Asia and Issei as they were about to go in the club room, apparently oblivious to the fact that Irina and her friend had passed them on the way in without either pair noticing.

The whole night Kumonji had the jitters, as did Teiya. Even Erisu squirmed slightly when her son outlined the impromptu meeting earlier. Not only had the two girls left in a suspicious rush but based on feeling he dared to say that they were over at Issei's. Remembering that Irina knew who and what he was caused unpleasant thoughts to run through his mind, namely that one would be forced to kill the other. However, he perked up his ears and thankfully noted that they were clueless about Issei, and Asia as well. Being an excommunicate of the church alone would send Asia spiraling to the top of their hitlist. Instead Kumonji took the night to unwind slightly. _'I can't let my guard down too much. Kiba's still out on his own, and I won't just turn my back on him.'_

While the rook tossed and turned forgetting his inability to sleep at night, across town Issei and Azazel were fishing in a stream, discussing life topics and the virtue of patience. At the same time, Xenovia realized from where she recognized Asia. **"Of course! She was the witch who healed a devil. Interesting. Issei Hyoudo and Asia Argento, both Devils. It seems even the most pure can fall, and hard."** _'And Kumonji Tokumatsu as well.. Irina I pity your childhood. And fear that you may already be stained by their influence. Should you become a devil as well..'_ For whatever reason, Xenovia felt a very powerful pull in her mind toward the redhead. Her thoughts filled with his calm expression, only for her to dismiss them. She decided then and there. **"I hate that man."**

The next day found the club room once again occupied by devils and two Holy Sword users.

 **"I'll make this as brief as I possibly can."** Xenovia said to Rias. She turned to look Asia in the face. **"You there, you're Asia Argento, the former saint who could heal anyone correct?"**

All eyes were on the bishop as she hung her head. She only stared at the floor. **"Y-yes that's me."**

 **"Tell me, do you still believe in God?"** Asia's head snapped up at the question. She had never stopped believing, there was not a trace of doubt or wavering in her.

 **"Don't be silly!"** Remarked Irina. **"She's like, a devil and stuff. Of course she doesn't-"**

 **"That's not always the case. There are some cases however rare that the pure of heart are pious after death or becoming outcast. If that's the case for you as well Asia, then you should let me kill you, right here and now."** Xenovia stood and turned her sword over to grasp the hilt.

 _ **"What?!"**_ the whole room exclaimed in unison.

 **"If your heart is truly with God, you should allow me to execute you and purge your sins with the Holy Sword of Destruction. Only then can you ascend to heaven. Or at least free yourself from life as a devil. God will forgive you if you are cleansed by a Holy Sword, and I will be forgiven for setting you free."**

 **"Do you mind standing down,"** Rias stood to address Xenovia. **"I won't allow you to insult my servant further."**

 **"I mean no insult, but if you perceive it as such I apologize. As one of God's servants it's my duty to save her soul."**

Issei cocked his fist back, ready to close the distance and deck her. However, he nearly choked when his collar was tugged back by Kumonji. **"Down boy."**

 **"You have no right to shame Asia like that and call her a witch. You pricks decided she was a saint, and then you cast her aside for doing what she does best, even if that person was a devil they were a soul in need. If you can cast aside a good honest person like Asia so easily what the hell is so great about-** _ **thwack!**_ **"** The pawn took a lump over the head from Kumonji, if only to stop him from saying something stupid. Now he cooled off a bit, he realized it would have been a dick move to pick a fight with them.

 **"I apologize for my friend's attitude, but he's right. Asia only ever cared for others, and for you to come in here and tell her that she's better off dead is unforgivable. She's a part of this family and regardless of her past remains as pious as anyone else. If you want to get to her you'll have to go through us."** Kumonji clenched his fist, his glare turning stone cold.

 **"You would challenge the will of God?"** Xenovia raised her eyebrow.

 **"I'll take you all on."** A familiar voice rang out from beside the doorway. There, looking gruff and thoroughly worn out was Kiba. **"Nice to meet you, I'm your senpai and superior."**

 **"Kiba!"** exclaimed Rias and Koneko in equal volumes of relief. Kumonji huffed a sigh as well, and Akeno found herself thanking Lucifer that her friend was alright and safe.

 **"Well, since it's a battle of wills, may I make a suggestion, Rias? I propose a 2 on 2 spar, Heaven and Hell, just to keep us sharp."** Kumonji raised a fist to his chest. **"After all, we have to get stronger somehow right?"**

Five minutes later found everyone outside. Issei had wanted to fight with Irina, but after Kumonji suggested he'd have a better view of the pretty girls from the sidelines (and the fact that Issei was still relatively weak) the pawn reluctantly bowed out. Kiba had been looked at by Asia and Akeno and healed to proper fighting form, and decided to take on Xenovia. The two women discarded their cloaks to reveal tight combat spandex much to Issei's delight. **"Let's begin."**

Xenovia unwound her large Excalibur fragment in no time, clutching tightly and watching Kiba use sword birth to create one equal in size. Irina went next, unwinding the white cord around her left bicep to form a simple katana with a round guard just above her grip. Kumonji summoned his Thousand Arsenal and coated both of his upper forearms in armor, forging two claymore-like swords with guards that rounded into blades like axes.

 **"Are you sure this is okay, even though it's not a real battle?"** Akeno almost looked worriedly at Rias. Her best friend just nodded and smiled.

 **"This is just a drill, nothing more. No killing, just a test of strength and will."**

 **" 'Cause if the higher ups found out about this,"** chided Irina.

 **"There would be hell to pay."** Kumonji smirked at his own lame joke. Issei and Kiba facepalmed, but had to admit the timing was pretty good. _'Still lame though.'_ they thought.

 **~ _Fight!~_**

 **"Oh Kumonji, Issei, how heartbreaking that you two are really devils. My two childhood friends followed the path of depravity oh I feel that fate is making fun of me right now-"** As Irina continued on her monologue of the will of God and how she wished she didn't have to fight Kumonji could only deadpan. _'Depravity? Me?'_ **"I'm sorry Kumonji this will hurt me as much as it does you but for your sins you must now face the wrath of my Excalibur!"** With that Irina made the first move, stepping in for a deft overhand swing. Kumonji got his guard up and prepared his counterattack, a wide left hook that had the blade angled up under her guard. Irina shifted her weight back and slipped the pincer technique, following up with a high overhead that was parried in a scissor pattern and repelled back. Her speed and dexterity were matched by his strength and ability to handle two large weapons at once. Somehow, this was familiar to Rias, but she wasn't sure where she'd seen it before.

Meanwhile, Xenovia and Kiba squared off, circling like two wolves waiting for the other to jump first. Kiba stepped in and went straight for the neck, but his swing was too wild and Xenovia dodged. She was behind him and he had to cover his back, twisting to keep his eyes on her. **"Your speed is quite incredible with a normal blade, but with a weapon that large you compromise speed for power, leaving you with neither!"** Xenovia clearly had the upper hand, pushing Kiba on his heels despite his being able to pick up the pace. He raised his sword to counter when the opening presented itself, but she was ready for it and disarmed him. Instead of trying to beat her to it he let it vanish and instead drew two smaller rapiers from thin air.

Akeno found herself watching intently as Kumonji held his own against the young woman. Irina caught her sword under Kumonji's blade and opened his stance, quickly withdrawing and striking at his center for an upward finisher.

That is, if his armor hadn't bridged the gap on its own. The rook smirked at her shocked expression. **"Oh come on, your weapon changes shape so why can't mine? You really shouldn't be too confident until you know your enemy's capabilities."** He brought the blade on his right hand across his body for a backhanded strike. Irina deflected, but Kumonji smirked as the blade spun on axis and the axe-like guard came at her from the other side. She leaned back and slipped away, allowing the blade to come full circle. The metallic shell that had encompassed him from thigh to neck retreated to his hands as he clapped them and made a grabbing motion. His left gauntlet flowed into his right one like mercury, forming a handle beneath his fingers. From that large handle a blade as thick as his head grew, coming to a point nearly 5 feet above the hilt. **"Yes it's big, but I know how to handle it as well."** The buster sword waved and the battle intensified. Irina found that he swung it as easily she did her own, only managing a minor cut on him when he missed his footing.

On the other side of the fight, Kiba's fast attacks had Xenovia on the defense, but with a heavier weapon it was easy repel his advances. Kiba swung recklessly, driven by the need to destroy the Excalibur fragment. He bashed and flailed at it harder and harder, but the Holy Sword wasn't going to give in so easily. Xenovia struck back, snapping both of the blades at once to her delight. Kiba growled and summoned yet another sword, a midling sword that wasn't too heavy but still had more force behind it. With a yell of determination he swung with all of his might, but Xenovia stabbed hers into the ground and created a crater where he once stood. Kiba's last ditch attack lost its power as he stumbled into her. She caught him in the gut with her knee, causing her to shove him back and point the blade at his neck. **"Well fought, but you're too emotional and easy to predict. As my superior you should know to fight only with a clear head. Still, your swordsmanship is to be commended."** Xenovia strapped her sword back over her shoulder and awaited Irina's fight to come to an end.

Irina had striped his arm with cuts, and still he stood swinging. He drew back and swung, aiming low. She guarded overhead but the tip of her sword was twisted awkwardly and sent into the ground a fair distance away. She prepared herself as the edge came around again for her neck, and shut her eyes. After a long moment she opened them again to see that he had stopped his attack and was smiling at her, offering his hand. **"This is still just a drill, and hurting women just isn't my style. Or any innocent person for that matter. Besides.."** The oversized sword he had made retreated back to his gauntlet, which shrunk further to resemble a metal glove without the fingers. **"Looks like I'm out of magical stamina."** She took his hand and got to her feet. Neither had their weapon, it would be decided with hand to hand combat. **"So I guess this will be my last attack,"** he said as he regained his fighting composure. Irina looked confused as he took up a martial arts pose and inhaled deeply through the nose. _'I figured out how to use wind magic, let's just hope beginner's luck gets me through this first attempt.'_ He held his arm out straight with his thumb to his middle finger. At first, Issei swore it looked like Kumonji was about to use Dress Break, but that wasn't his thing. Kumonji snapped his fingers which created a small vortex of spiraling air, and a quick exhale sent the wind tunnel flying at Irina with insane speed and force. As the air bullet impacted her shoulder the force imploded and the top half of her outfit was torn to bits.

 **"...uh.."** Kumonji was at a loss, Akeno deadpanned, Koneko glared, and Issei blushed, thanking the gods of boobies that all was right with the world. From behind him, Kumonji could feel the eyes boring into the back of his head and no sooner had he paled the Priestess of Thunder fried him with a series of lightning bolts and a sadistic grin.

Irina gathered her weapon and her cloak, thanking Rias for magically fixing her clothes as they turned to leave. **"Sword birth, The Red Dragon Emperor, Twilight Healing.. You've got good friends, sister of Lucifer. Let us handle the Holy Swords, and perhaps we can fight like this again sometime."**

 **"OW! Dammit Akeno sometimes I swear you're doing that on- YAAAAOOW!"** Kumonji fidgeted and squirmed as Akeno and Asia applied antiseptic and magic to the Holy Sword cuts he and Kiba had received from the fight. Koneko gladly held them down, dismissing the rook's constant protest that the peculiar attack was still in progress.

 **"Just out of curiousity, have you found out which of the Fallen Angels is responsible for stealing the Excalibur Fragments?"** Rias asked as Xenovia followed Irina away.

 **"Yes, the leader of the Grigori, the Fallen Angel known as Kokabiel."**

 **"You plan on going after a Leader class? Do you plan on getting yourself killed?"** Rias looked sternly at the two. Even though they weren't devils, going after a foe that dangerous was suicide. Rias had to stop them from doing anything foolish.

 **"I gladly risk my life to protect and serve the will of God. If I must die to annihilate them, then so be it."** said Xenovia.

 **"We understand the danger,"** added Irina. **"There was already a casualty, a priest sent to investigate was found murdered, but we don't know by who."**

 **"It was Freed Sellzen. I watched as he killed the man you described. And fought him before he ran away."** Said Kiba. Kumonji mentally cursed. So Kiba went head to head with that psychopath and he wasn't there to back him up? _'Dammit! I can't save anyone..'_ the rook thought to himself.

 **"This has been very informative, but don't involve yourselves any further. We'll be going now."**

 **"It's been fun! Issei, Kumonji, Asia I'll be here to judge you anytime! Amen!"** with that the brunette kissed her crucifix and ran off after Xenovia as she waved at the group of devils.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 18**

Yay more fight scenes and stuff! i promise i'm still working on getting better at fight scenes. and all scenes for that matter. reviews make me a faster learner, and as always faves and followers you guys are the best! Peace and Hair Grease!


	19. Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Hi everyone! Onward and upward with the fanfic!

 **DxD property of Ishibumi.**

* * *

 **"Good news!"** Kiryu proclaimed to Kumonji, Issei, Matsuda, Motohama, and Asia. **"I'll be accompanying you all to a round of Karaoke."**

 **"Asia too? Aw hell yeah!"** Matsuda and Motohama grinned lecherously at the two babes while Issei and Kumonji looked out over the banister.

 **"As a member of the student council I'd recommend you two keep your impulses in check. Be careful not to let their loser rub off on you Asia."** Saji separated Asia from the three perverts, taking her hand in a gentlemanly fashion. He beamed and grinned causing Kumonji to fake gag and Issei to step up to him.

 **"Oh hey Saji how are you doing today?"** Asia asked, clueless to his advance.

 **"Better now that you're here."**

 **"Student council secretary or not, you need to back off, MoFo!"** Motohama accused.

 **"Such aggression,"** retorted the blonde, posing. **"This is what I'm talking about Asia."**

 **"Okay loverboy, keep it moving."** Issei lightly but firmly shoved the blonde away from Asia, essentially isolating the issue. Kumonji looked over at the two pawns, when an idea began to form in his head. Actually, there was something they could use Saji for, if they could convince him. Strolling over, he stopped Issei in his tracks and leaned over to whisper into Saji's ear. **"Meet us downtown. Alone. There's something we need to discuss."**

Saji nodded and walked off, while Kumonji put his hand on Issei's shoulder. Thankfully he got the message and returned to the conversation as if nothing happened.

Hours later, the three of them were at a cafe having iced tea. It was plenty busy, and they kept their voices down so the dull roar of everyone else talking covered the topic quite well.

 **"..and then he just ran off again. It's like he's got it in his head that he's the only one capable of taking out these holy swords on his own. That's why we need you."** Issei pleaded with Saji.

 **"Are you outta your freaking gourd?! Hell no, you can't be serious!"** Saji had to struggle to not make a scene.

 **"As a five hour boner, dude."** Issei hung his head, knowing this was probably the reaction he would get. **"Look, I wouldn't ask you if I didn't have to but it's not about taking down the holy swords, I just wanna make sure Kiba makes it back to Rias in one piece."**

 **"You're insane!"** He stood and half-shouted at his fellow pawn. Everyone around him gave him a funny look, until Kumonji unceremoniously tugged him back into his seat without wavering from his cool drink. **"Our presidents would kill us for even considering interfering. Sure, you've got Rias and she can be forgiving, but you have no idea what Sona's like. She's draconian and lives to give out punishment. There's no way in hell man, sorry but I'm out."** With that he stood to walk away but the rook held to his shirt and prevented him from going anywhere.

 **"So you're okay with cooperating with the Church, Issei? I know it's not the best idea but as far as getting our friend back and possibly keeping the peace I suppose there are worse ideas. Push comes to shove we can save a holy sword and use it as a bargaining chip or a token of appeasement, at least to keep the angels from targeting us."** Kumonji had to admit, this was reckless even by his standards. Still, given that the goal first and foremost was Kiba a bit of punishment from Rias, however rough, was a fair price to pay. Saji wavered, then sat back down again.

 **"Okay, you make a good point but Sona will still have my ass just for thinking about it."**

 **"So tell her we made you do it. I don't care if you throw us under the bus Saji, but a friend never leaves a comrade behind."** Issei proclaimed. **"Besides, the chicks even said they'd rather have the swords destroyed than fall into the hands of Fallen Angels. Kiba wants them trashed for revenge. The motives are different but the outcome is the same, so if we can make this alliance work, even temporarily, then it's worth a shot."**

 **"Yeah, I just hope that we get him back soon for Koneko's sake. First things first, though."** The redhead stood, placing his empty glass on the table. **"We need to find those ladies from the church. We should split up, Issei you go that way, I'll go this way, and Saji if you even think about bailing on us or ratting us out, I'll get Teiya to frame you so that Sona punishes you anyway."** He remembered Teiya saying something about Saji getting in trouble with Sona once before, though he dare not ask what based on the look of irritation on her face. _'Finally, having a sadistic little sister comes in handy.'_

The blonde pawn whimpered. **"So with a pawn and a rook on board what do you need me for?"**

 **"Strength in numbers my friend. More on our side will make this process go faster and smoother."**

The three parted ways to search for the two churchgoers. Unbeknownst to them there was someone at the cafe paying very close attention. She too stood and began following Issei from a safe distance.

Forty minutes later there was still no sign of the two women, a fact that seemed to hang ominously over the trio's heads. By now Issei was several blocks east, Saji to the north and Kumonji southwest. The latter stopped along a row of shops and leaned against a low brick wall to think this plan out.

 _'If I were a member of the church where would I be? Probably nowhere near here. I mean how often does one run into two buxom weirdos in white robes in the market district?'_

 **"Blessed be the hand that tips in favor of those less fortunate. Here us, O Lord, that you may have mercy upon the sheep before us."**

 _'..You can't be serious.'_ Kumonji turned his head to find that there on the corner were the same two women dressed in their robes and begging for money for the church. **"Well, He does work in mysterious ways."**

Hearing his voice as he snuck up on them made both of the women jump out of their skin. They turned to confront him but he had one hand in his pocket and the other held up in a surrendering fashion. Seeing this they let their guards down again.

 **"Fancy running into you here."** Xenovia said with a glower. **"If you're looking for a rematch I'll gladly-"** _ **ggggrrrrrrrwwwllllll.**_ Try though they may, the threat of force made way to the embarrassment of growling stomachs, rendering their cheeks a bright pink and their words a bit more hollow.

 **"..why don't I just treat you ladies to lunch?"**

 **"We don't need your-** _ **GRRRRWL"**_

After quickly calling Issei and Saji, they retreated to a restaurant where Kumonji saw his money disappear in the mouths of Xenovia and Irina as fast as the poor server could bring plates.

 **"As members of the church, you two** _ **are**_ **aware that Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins I hope?"**

Xenovia glared again, placing her bowl down on the table. **"What would a lowly devil such as yourself even know of virtue or honor? What right have you to judge God or his teachings?"**

 **"Simple: He's full of shit."** The pair in robes grew furious, but once again Kumonji raised his hands. **"Now now, hear me out. First, let's start with the facts. Your God, the creator of the Heavens and the Earth, made all angels and man, and subsequently women in His own image, and yet inherent evil exists. If He is all-powerful, willing and able to purge this evil, then where is the evil from if not a fault of His own? Next, He demands a whole day of the week dedicated to Him, so he's greedy not to mention arrogant. He claims Himself the one and only true God, so He's proud. He will punish those who worship other gods, therefor He is envious. He claims to be capable of smiting any and all He judges to be wicked, so if He does just that it would make Him guilty of wrath and if not, sloth."**

Irina had her arms crossed and was waiting for him to finish. Xenovia on the other hand had her fists clenched, ready to deal with the blasphemer at the utterance of one more word.

 **"But, that's also my opinion. I've been an atheist long before I was a devil, but looking at it from the outside and from the inside my ideals are still that:** _ **my**_ **ideals. Whatever reason you two have for believing your fighting for what's right is the same one that I have fighting for my side. We may not agree and we may not get along, but putting that aside for the moment there's something we need to discuss."**

That seemed to cool them off, just in time as well. Issei and Saji came through the door to find a table stacked with dishes of every size and shape with the rook on one side and the ladies on the other. Irina picked up her drink and sipped as the two newcomers sat.

 **"Well, you did help us in a time of need, so I suppose it would only be fair to hear you out. Besides, the good book does say to turn the other cheek to your enemies,"** the bluenetted added rather icily. **"Accepting help from devils, blasphemers no less, surely this marks the end of days."**

Irina nodded and clasped her hands in prayer. **"O Lord, bless these Devils who so selflessly fed your servants, and forgive us that we surrendered in a moment of weakness. Please bless these kind souls."** With that she crossed her body solemnly.

As if lightning were stringing through them, the three devils at once clasped their heads in their hands and yelped in pain. **"For the love of thick thighs stop it already! We don't need God's blessing!"** Issei spat, rubbing his temples from the surge that passed through him.

Xenovia looked between them expectantly. **"Well? What is it you wanted to talk about?"**

 **"We want to help you destroy Excalibur."** Issei said, meeting her gaze.

As the five of them discussed their views on the matter of the missing swords and Kiba, Xenovia began to ponder their scheme. Kumonji was on the same page, judging by the subtle signs of interest she had. They laid out every detail, examined every angle, and formulated a strategy.

 **"Based on the circumstances at hand, I see no reason not to cooperate in this venture. We're well aware of the fact that Kokabiel is very dangerous, and to undertake this on our own would be suicide. Furthermore obtaining all three of the missing swords with just the two of us would be impossible, and would risk us losing two more, a fatal blow to the church should the fallen angels come into possession of them. However, if the opportunity arises we expect you devils to capture the swords without destroying as many as possible."** The bluenette seemed very adamant, but Irina gave her a sideways glance that seemed to be full of.. disapproval?

 **"We understand, and agree."** Kumonji stated. **"Consider it a gift, a peace offering between our two parties. Of course, since we're operating outside of our respective masters' authorities, I can't say that this will do anything to bring our factions any closer to a permanent armistace."**

* * *

 **"I see. Frankly, it makes sense, but.. ultimately I'm disappointed. For someone capable of wielding an Excalibur to approve of its destruction.."** Kiba said with contempt. The five were now standing before him after Matsu had tracked his phone for Kumonji.

 **"Speaking of disappointing, didn't you recently abandon your post in the House of Gremory?"** Xenovia retorted. As much as Kiba hated to admit it, she had a point. That clearly touched a nerve as his glare intensified. **"Since you are a stray now, we may execute you if you prefer it."** With that she grasped the hilt of her Holy Sword of Destruction, drawing the first few inches to prove her point.

 **"You may try if you wish."** Kiba wouldn't back down, the palm of his hand glowing should he call sword birth and attack.

 **"Whoa time out,"** Issei and Kumonji formed a shield between the two.

 **"Yeah, like 'Monji said, we're trying to cooperate here so no fighting."**

 **"I sympathize with your view of the Holy Sword Project. In fact, it's an embarrassment to anyone in the church as well, viewed with a heavy heart and great shame that such a thing went on in His name. That is why the person responsible was punished, excommunicated."** Xenovia hilted her weapon, Kiba allowing his magic to retreat as well.

 **"His name is Galilei Valper, also known as the Archbishop of Annihilation."** Irina added.

 **"I know Valper. He's responsible for making me the man I am today."** Kiba's mind went back, to the painful night in the snow. And Valper's face, the last he saw before escaping.

 **"We did say that one of his tools was a stray priest?"**

 **"Wait, you mean Freed?"** Issei balked at Xenovia's remark. Kumonji on the other hand felt his anger surging at his name. This time, there would be no escape for Freed.

 **"Based on past interactions among corrupt individuals in the church, it's highly possible that the two are working together again on what is going on now."**

 **"I see."** Kiba paused to consider everything. **"Then I suppose I have no choice but to cooperate."** The knight stopped and gave a half hearted smile. **"If Koneko ever found out, she'd probably kick my ass."**

 **"You're damn right I would."** Kiba went to turn, only to find himself brought to his knees in front of the adorable nekomata when she tugged his ear. **"After I carried you home and brought you back to us you just run off again and risk your life as if it doesn't matter?"** The normally stonefaced woman was on the verge of tears. Even Kiba had to admit, that was a rarity. **"Will you stop being so damn hardheaded and ask for help already? You don't have to do things alone all the time."**

Kiba smiled apologetically up at her, wincing slightly less as she let go of him. **"I will Koneko. I'm sorry."** She smiled at him, then gingerly bapped him on the head with a closed fist. In his heart, Kumonji hoped that one day he and Akeno could communicate their feelings so easily.

 **"..So I take it you'll be joining us too Koneko?"** Kumonji asked. When she nodded, he turned to face the two churchgoers. **"Alright, where do we start?"**

* * *

 **"This thing is so damned ITCHY!"** The devils and ladies of faith were all huddled in the worn out church where Xenovia and Irina had been staying the past few nights. Kumonji barely buttoned the first button on his priest disguise and his body was already reacting to the holy garb. **"Did they wash this in holy water or something?!"**

Koneko, Kiba, and Issei managed to get their disguises on completely, hats included, without so much as a hitch. As Koneko turned to regard her fellow rook, she noticed that there was a damp spot in the middle of his back that appeared to be giving him fits, as well as a couple more on the cuffs and collar, which confirmed that yes it had been dropped in something. **"Saji, Saji quick could you just scratch right there between my shoulder blades? Please man.."** Koneko approached slowly and pulled the blonde pawn away before he could get any on his fingers and elbowed Kumonji in the back where he described, causing him to howl and wheeze for a moment. **"Thank.. you.."**

 **"So the plan is to infiltrate the church, steal the swords and take out the bad guys? Not that I don't have faith in the plan, but what's plan b?"** Issei smirked, chuckling nervously.

 **"Move fast, take out everything."** Kiba stated bluntly. **"And most importantly, don't die."** A soft chuckle. **"After all this time, never thought I'd be in priest's clothes again."**

 **"Not without kicking and screaming, anyway."** Irina smiled and looked over all of the devils dressed in borrowed clothes.

 **"We'll be more efficient if we split into two groups. since there are seven of us, you five should go after the corrupt priests, and we'll use the diversion to track down and recover the swords quietly."** Xenovia seemed tense, more than usual Irina thought to herself. **"Conduct your search in the west, and Irina and I will take the East."**

 **"Sounds good to me. "**

 **"If anyone gets in trouble, call for help, don't be a hero."** Kumonji looked up and noticed Irina's cross hanging from her neck. **"Oh and, you should consider wearing that upside down."**

 **"And worship the devil? No way."**

 **"Actually, the upside down cross was first used in the crucifixion of Saint Peter, who didn't want to be compared to Big J in death. Just a thought."** Kumonji smiled, noting his reflection in a puddle of water that dripped from the broken ceiling. _'I need a better disguise, if Freed sees me coming, he'll sound the alarm before we even get close.'_

The itching sensation from the spots of water made themselves known again, a fact that made his concentration waver. While Xenovia relayed to Issei that the White Dragon had revealed himself, Kumonji struggled to reach his fingertips between his shoulders. As he went for the spot, an idea popped into his head. If Issei's dragon gauntlet could withstand the effects.. The silver ring on his right hand vanished, emerging under his clothes to cover his whole spine, which no longer felt the effects of the holy water. As he took another look in the puddle, he caught a glimmer of the metal under his collar.

 **"Of course!"** The sudden revelation stirred everyone to watch as he hunched over, hearing a metallic grinding before he stood. When the rook turned, everyone was surprised to find he now had a silvery beard and matching hair up under his hat. Across the bridge of his nose were a pair of wireframed square spectacles. **"Tada! Shapeshifting armor, now useful as unstoppable chin guard and effective concealer."**

 **"..you wear glasses?"** Kiba asked, never seeing his friend in them before.

 **"I prefer to use my contact lenses, but just in case I keep a pair of glasses handy. This doesn't leave the church."** Kumonji felt a bit embarrassed, but he looked totally different so it was decided he would lead the devils around the western half of town, specifically looking for churches or monestaries.

The team set out, searching in vain for a fair amount of time. Issei still seemed to be hung up on the news about the white dragon, but Kiba put a hand on his shoulder. **"You'll be fine."**

 **"Totally!"** Saji added. **"Just keep training hard, bro. I mean you took Riser Phenex down one on one, how hard can this white dragon be in comparison?"**

Some time later, with Kiba leading the charge, they found a clue in the building where the team had fought a stray devil so long ago. The devils all felt a gnawing instinct to turn away, which could only mean that they had found something. They stood away from the shadow of the building for a moment, Kumonji put on his charm, and for added measure capped one of his teeth in Sen no Buki as well. Behind him everyone formed into a vanguard and hid under their hats to avoid being noticed. Nobody was around, so they approached the door in formation. With much trepidation Kumonji knocked twice, and was surprised to hear footsteps from within.

 _ **Knock Knock**_

 **"Who's there?"** The singsong voice of Freed replied. He was drawing ever closer, they could hear. Nobody replied, causing the priest to grow wary and draw his holy sword. Curious now, Freed stepped lightly and listened for the slightest breath or voice.

 _ **-CRASH!-**_

The door flew inward, broken off of its hinges as it broke the priest's nose and sent him to the floor.

 **"The Door."** Kumonji dropped his disguise and lead everyone inside to surround the psychopath. Freed looked around as he tenderly rubbed his nose, only to smirk.

 **"My, my, is it Halloween already? And here I am no candy. Oh well, hope you like swords!"** He grasped the hilt of his weapon, nearly cutting all of them but only managing to gain space. He raised the holy sword high overhead, cleaving a hole in the wall to his right which he escaped through, only to be followed by the devils. For a brief instant he couldn't be seen, until Kiba caught a last second glimpse of him leaping from a nearby pillar to attack him from above. Thinking quickly he called on his Holy Eraser and deflected him back up to the second level.

 **"Round 2 blondie? Don't mind if I do. And look you brought all your friends. The hothead, the pervert, the midget.. oops I mean little** _ **lady.**_ **And someone new as well, oh joy. It's an all-you-can-eat devil buffet just for my little Excalibur!"** At the last word the psychotic priest let his tongue fall from his mouth to drag obscenely up the back end of the holy sword in his hands. Watching the spectacle gave everyone a shiver of disgust.

 **"Hey, Freed. Try not to cut off your tongue while you're there. It would be a pity not to hear you scream in agony. Did you forget?"** Kumonji shouted up to him as his sacred gear materialized, forming the same set of claws as the first time the rook threatened him. **"This knife. Your ass."** To emphasize the point, the other two retracted and vanished, punctuating the middle-finger facsimile by increasing the size of the blade in both length and thickness.

 **"Now that's funny. You're all going to try to take me on at once?"**

 **"Don't get the wrong idea. Your only opponent is me."** Kiba took up a stance, sword at the ready to press the attack. The other four threw off their priest clothing and took a step back, giving Kiba the go. **"You guys back me up, I've got this."** He ran up, using his knightly speed to run up a pillar to the same level as Freed. **"Now you die!"**

 **"What's interesting,"** Freed jeered, **"is that no matter how many headstrong little devils fling themselves at me, not a single one can last long enough to make this fun."** Kiba swung, only to find that he caught air. Everyone blinked once, but Freed was nowhere to be found.

 **"Kiba, above you!"** Kumonji caught sight of the psycho first, coming down at incredible speed. His Excalibur was as far back as he could make it go, and swung like a buzz saw with an overhead flip and downward slash.

Kiba was able to dodge roll out of the way, but found himself hand springing back as soon as he caught his footing. There was no way anyone should be that fast, and yet Freed was pressing the offensive from both fronts, each attack followed up by another coming from behind. _'Have I gotten slow?'_ The blonde looked down momentarily at his friends, who were struggling to keep sight of either of them. A lunge, jab, twist, guard, every move he made the priest was one step ahead. It was as if he'd gotten better than the last time they fought.

 **"How do you like my Super-Fast Sword, also known as Excalibur Rapidly?"** The two swords clashed and sparks flew as each ground against the other for supremacy.

 _'Of course, the Holy Sword that boosts natural speed to superhuman levels. He must not have realized its true potential last time. Or he was just toying with me.'_ Kiba drew back and pushed off, gaining some breathing room.

 **"Normally it's all too easy to take out measely little wimps like you, but this is getting exciting!"** Saji, Issei, Kumonji, and Koneko all watched as Freed and Kiba dashed at each other with new vigor. If it was hard to keep up before, the two were little more than blurry spots dancing around each other in a shower of sparks and glints of moonlight.

 **"Holy crap, they're even quicker than before. Looks like he's moving faster than even Kiba. This sucks."** Issei, having called his sacred gear, began powering up in case there was an opening to transfer his power.

Koneko, taking advantage of Freed being occupied, pulled out her phone and dialed in a few numbers.

 **"Damn, if we could just slow that bastard down a bit Issei could give Kiba the upper hand."** Kumonji's eyes had barely adjusted to the speed, though the fight was still quicker than he could hope to process. _'If that were me up there, I'd be shit outta luck.'_

 _ **'That's because you're relying on your eyes to see.'**_ That voice again. He knew that voice was familiar from somewhere, but the omnipresence seemed to be lost on his friends. Could that be? _**'Come on, Kid. You know who I am. Now focus, don't rely on your eyes, feel the fight.'**_ Kumonji allowed himself to close his eyes, focusing on the sounds of their swords ringing out. The smell of steel bashing steel, the slight ripples in the air from every swing. And when he opened his eyes, he found himself automatically tracking the two at near blinding speed.

 **"So you need to slow him down do you? No problem."** Saji brought his arm across himself , slicing his fingers through the air. **"Line up!"** A black and purple bracer formed across the back of his hand, shaped like a chibi dragon with its mouth open. He cocked back and punched, launching a beam of light at Freed mid-step. It worked, catching him off guard as the beam solidified into a solid tether that coiled around his ankle several times over and dropped him face first onto the archway.

 **"No way, you have a sacred gear too?"** The three devils said in unison.

 **"Issei, go!"** Saji shouted.

 **"Right.** _ **Boost!**_ **Hey, what the.."** Koneko picked up the pervert like as if he were a basketball and heaved with all her might. Like a missile Issei rocketed toward Kiba and tagged his arm. _**Transfer!**_

Freed knew that he was in for it now, bashing repeatedly at the tether only to try and drag Saji as the knight came at him. Saji planted his feet but nearly fell face first until the two rooks took hold of him and jerked him back. The priest rolled off the archway and onto the ground below. That, however, wouldn't help him.

 **"This power I've been given is a gift. I use it gratefully. Now,** _ **Sword Birth!**_ **"** Kiba jabbed his sword into the ground, surrounding the priest with a ring of blades of all shapes and sizes. Freed looked around for an out, but the ring of blades was closing in fast. Each blade was bigger and more deadly than the last, causing him to panic and swing rashly to demolish each one only to face another three. He was cornered now, growing desperate as his safe zone shrunk further.

 **"Sword Birth, huh?"** A mysterious voice called from the doorway.

 **"Who's there?"** Kiba recognized that voice, halting his attack to see if it was who he thought. Koneko, Kumonji, and Saji all tugged at the line, catching Freed's leg against a jagged-looking blade before the figure in the doorway made itself known. The devils all ignored his string of swears and watched an older man in a cap and holy garb walked out.

 **"A sacred gear that emits massive power and sharpens its energies into a blade of the user's choosing. Oh Freed, how embarrassing. It looks like your use of Holy Swords could still use a bit of touching up."** The older man looked up to Kiba behind those round thick glasses of his. **"It's been far too long my child. I had feared I would never see you again."**

 **"Valper!"** Kiba spat, seething with years of pent up rage.

 **"The one and only. Now Freed please stop playing around. Pour all of your energy into the blade of the sword and free yourself from that sacred gear."**

 **"Oh is that all it takes?"** Freed did as he was told, glowing now with holy power. With a single swing he easily severed the draining dragon tether, causing Saji and Kumonji to fall back onto the dirt.

 **"Dammit, I won't let this guy beat me again."** The redhead clenched his teeth, extending his sacred gear blade even further as his anger built. Pushing Saji off to his side, Kumonji stood and drew back, leaping up at Freed before he could counter attack. **"I've had enough of you!"** The rook swung with all his might, but the holy sword caught the blade and diverted it and him into the wall of the building. Falling onto a thin lip of building Kumonji turned to find Freed midair and poised to deliver the mother of backhanded swings.

 _ **-clang!-**_

Excalibur Rapidly stopped beside Kumonji's head, embedded into the building and stinging his skin. A faint droplet of blood fell from his earlobe where he was cut. Standing between the two of them, a woman in white wielding a giant sword with curves about the base of the blade. The Holy Sword of Destruction.

 **"Xen- ovia?"** Kumonji and Issei both looked in awe as the two holy swords met, one preventing the end of a devil the other pressing to advance it. Kiba was surprised as well, but Koneko was relieved they had finally arrived. The silverette turned her attention to Valper, as did Kiba.

 **"Perfect timing Irina. I was worried you two were going to leave us."** To her surprise, Irina hugged the nekomata who was torn between feeling glad and angry that she wasn't tall enough to be burned by the cross hung around her neck.

 **"You two are traitors. Hear me Freed Sellzen, and you as well Galilei Valper, I condemn your souls in the name of God!"** Xenovia stepped into her swing, pushing Freed back and away from them.

 **"Hey, I know it's not your style to save devils, but I owe you one."**

 **"Save it. You can thank me after these blasphemers have been dealt with."**

 _'She said to the other blasphemer.'_ Mental facepalm aside, the stinging sensation in his ear made itself perfectly known. _'If she had even been a fraction of a second later that thing would have taken my head off. I'd be painted all over this wall.'_ He looked up at the woman who saved his life, awestruck by her nonchalance.

In that moment Kiba jumped from his place toward the nutjob with a war cry of pure hate. Freed blocked the sloppy attack and back-stepped, standing beside Valper.

 **"You're done. All I asked of you was to get rid of the pesky interlopers from the church, yet here they stand amongst devils and wielding holy swords. On top of that you're outmatched, even if you could fight them one at a time I doubt you'd be able to beat them all single handedly. After all, you couldn't even finish off one."** Valper sucked his teeth and turned to leave. **"It's been fun, but our plans are not yet ready to come to fruition."** The old man threw a sideways glance toward Kiba. **"Until we meet again."**

Freed took one of his buttons off of his coat. The moment he threw it on the ground a flash of light burst out and blinded everyone to their escape, despite the three bladed warriors jumping in to cut off a leg or two. Cursing, Kiba took off in the direction that he sensed the holy sword to be moving. Following close behind were Xenovia followed by Irina. Kumonji grasped at his ear, feeling a slight trickle of blood. _'I'm not bleeding much, so there's no reason that I can't jump in and make a difference this time.'_ The rook dismissed Sen no Buki into its default ring shape, following in hot pursuit. Kiba was far ahead, but it didn't take too long for him to catch up to Irina and Xenovia.

 **"Which way?"**

 **"We don't know, we lost him somewhere up ahead. Can you call him or something?"**

 **"I don't think he'd stop to answer. Besides, he was so dead set on doing this alone from the beginning he may not stop to wait for us to catch up. If this is his only chance he'll cling to it. Not that I blame him, that bastard Freed.. he killed my sister and I."**

The two women exchanged a knowing glance, but went on without another word. Only a minute later they stopped to catch their breath, no way of finding any trace of them.

 **"They got away. Well darn, and since they're on the move there's no way to know where they'll stay next."** Irina pouted.

A burst of energy nearby, then another. They were getting closer.

 **"Get down!"** Kumonji pushed them aside, avoiding the surprise attacks himself by mere moments. _'Just like the Rating Game. Too bad asshat, I don't plan to get blown up like that again.'_

Freed came out of nowhere, attacking from the Kumonji's blind spot. However, the silver metal of his Sacred gear deployed over his body, thicker now than ever before. _**'You're getting stronger, so your body can handle more armor.'**_ Pushing the voice of his sacred gear to the back of his mind for the time being he focused on reversing the fight and turning the tide.

Another burst of energy from the sword scattered all three of them. When Kumonji stood up again, he heard a shriek coming from the forest ahead and to his left. Running in headlong he found Irina had drawn her Holy Sword of Mimicry and was using it in the form a large shield. Freed had the speed advantage, angling the blade of his sword around and behind her guard until her uniform was little more than tatters.

 **"The Holy Sword of Mimicry, why I'll take that thank you very- OMPH!"** The priest went flying from getting body-checked by an adamantium wall.

 **"You Okay?"** He offered his hand and helped Irina up from her huddled position. **"Keep your shield facing forward, and keep your back close to mine. I'll protect you, but we gotta work together."**

She nodded, bringing the golden shield in tight to her, braced for any impact. True to form, Freed tried coming in from behind only to find himself face to face with a metal mask. Kumonji knocked heads with him and drove him back, making Freed swear and bleed in equal measures. Only then did Xenovia find them and take up defense alongside the redhead.

 **"Let them be, Freed."** A booming voice from high in the sky called. **"They may be small fries, but they're tenacious. We'll have that weapon yet."** Looking up, a sinister light was cast upon a creature floating in midair amid multiple wings and a grin of pure bloodlust. **"This isn't over."**

The figure implodes leaving only a few black feathers behind, and when everyone looks for Freed they find that he, too, is gone.

 **"..I think you ought to stay at my place tonight."** The sudden remark by the rook caught both ladies off guard, causing them to blush immensely.

 **"W-what are you suggesting exactly?"** Irina stammered.

 **"Those two knew you were looking for them, and Valper said something about Freed needing to gain more mastery over holy swords. On top of that, if you add in the fact that 3 holy swords are missing and probably stolen by them, it's obvious that Valper is trying to give Psycho the crash course of Holy Sword Project. I wouldn't put it past them to try and come back for an ambush when we think they're on the run. It's like in the Art of War: Feign Retreat, lure the enemy into a trap, and catch them off guard. Make them think you're advancing, and fall back. Make them think you're falling back, then advance."** He considered the possibility to be minimal, but with unpredictable oddballs like Sellzen, anything is possible.

 **"But why your house?"** Xenovia questioned. **"The church we're staying in-"**

 **"Should be considered compromised. The two of them expected you, and were actively looking for you. Assume they know where you sleep, if you go back tonight there's no way both of you can keep each other safe, and if you last through the night you should know Freed attacked me in broad daylight downtown. You may or may not like me, but I live with two tough devils, and Rias Issei and Asia live right next door. They wouldn't think to poke that hornets' nest with a ten foot pole."**

Xenovia and Irina thought it over, then nodded to each other. **"Very well. But be warned.."**

 **"Yeah, yeah, if I try anything you'll cut out my eyes, cut off my balls, my balls go in my eye sockets.. Heard it, and I wouldn't try anything anyway. My heart is already set on someone."**

 **"Does she know you love her?"**

 **"Yeah, but we've had.. complications. Help me out here, if I want to get back in her good graces what should I do?"** They set off toward the Tokumatsu residence, taking a bit of a detour to prolong the conversation. The rest of the walk home, they chatted about his relationship with Akeno, discussing everything he had done wrong and what he ought to do in order to set everything right.

* * *

 **End of Chapter**

Author's note: Hi everyone. So first and foremost, the portion about organized religion **was** inspired by the original bit from Outsider Chronicles. If you haven't read that yet, seriously please give it a look. Also, while the original had a good point, I decided to put my own twist on that and expand just a touch.

For anyone and everyone who felt hurt, offended, or like I don't have a firm grasp or understanding of Judeo-Christian teachings: you're right I don't. That said, this story is about someone who is _looking in from the outside_. Having never been immersed or raised on any strict belief I can only offer my opinion, which is just that: MY opinion. And just like I said to Irina and Xenovia, "Any reason you have for believing in your teachings is the equal and opposite of why I choose not to follow them."

Short version: that section was my opinion, nothing further. If you liked it or it made you reflect, awesome. If it didn't or you didn't like it, you're entitled to that.

Last thing, super sorry for how long it took for this but I've been going back and reading all of my chapters and the typos and errors are just.. awful. I'll be fixing those soon.

Peace and Hair Grease!


	20. Desperate Battle for Kuoh!

Is it that time again? I believe it is. ^^' sorry for taking so long to keep up this story but who knew changing the plot of an anime would take so much.. well, plotting. So since it took me so long this chapter will be supersized. on the upside, i've got a pretty (somewhat) well thought out route that this story will take so we're back onboard and full steam ahead!

 **I own nothing!**

* * *

Kumonji, Irina, and Xenovia stepped through his front door at nearly 2 in the morning, thoroughly exhausted and on edge from their narrow escape. Teiya and Erisu had long since gone to bed so they moved as quietly as they could to avoid waking them.

 **"You two will be safer here than anywhere else in the city. For the time being, you can stay in my room and I'll stay down here on the couch. Let me just grab one of the spare blankets and make sure my room is decent while you two take a moment to chill."** The young women nodded their assent as he turns and points to the bathroom. **"If you need to shower or anything there should be fresh towels and stuff. As awkward as it is Irina if you need something to wear besides that cloak you can take whatever of mine. The same goes for you Xenovia, though I didn't see any significant tears in your wardrobe.."** He pales as she gives him the stare of death. **"Er.. anyway, you two get comfortable and I'll go check out my room now."**

The rook stepped up each stair on the balls of his feet, taking two and three at a time as he turned left at the top step and opened his bedroom door.

 **"There you are you naughty little boy"**

 **"..Fuck."** He knew that voice behind him all too well. The bundled up roll of blanket in his hands dropped to the floor as he turned around and found a very distraught looking Rias. **"Rias, I can explain."**

 **"There's no need for that.. Issei and Koneko already told me everything. And your sister filled Sona in as well."**

 **"Teiya did? And she told Tsubaki, who told Sona, who told you. Of course."** He couldn't facepalm any harder if he tried. _'I retract my previous praise of having a sadistic little sister.'_

 **"It seems she followed you three into town and was keeping tabs on you all in case you got into trouble. Honestly, you kids worry me too much. You especially."**

To her surprise, the Rook knelt before her, bowing deeply. **"I understand that my actions have consequences, and that by disobeying your orders I reflect negatively upon you as a master and myself as a devil. I also understand that inaction in a moment of crisis is equally tantamount to defeat. I hope you can forgive my transgressions, but I won't apologize for acting. It's not in my nature to put myself first, but for once that's proven to be a good thing. Kiba was fine, running off on his own but his recklessness could get him killed. I know it goes without saying that the church is a devil's worst enemy, but we fought together and they saved my life. What's more, I saved theirs and more than that we discovered that Kokabiel is in the area. He won't attack if things are looking dicey, and with two holy swords nearby as well as half a legion of devils.."**

 **"You brought the church** _ **here**_ **?"** Rias bit her nails into her arm giving off still more of that deadly aura aimed directly at him. He could tell her patience was being tested right now. He would have to tread lightly.

 **"...downstairs. They'd be safer and better off in a house full of combat-trained devils with more next door than they would out on their own. Despite our two sides being at war I can't turn a blind eye to someone, anyone, in danger. Besides, Kokabiel and Freed were trying desperately to get their hands on as many holy swords as they could, which leads me to believe that they're really trying to make a move for power. If that happens, I think we can rely on Irina and Xenovia to step up and at least fight for their swords."**

 **"I suppose you have a point. How is Kiba doing?"** Her voice lost some of the bite it had a moment ago, and Kumonji hoped it was in acquiescence of the situation as it was.

 **"Vanished, as usual. And thickheaded as well. Lost him as soon as Valper took off. He didn't even want to go along with my plan until we reasoned with him though, so he's developing a cooler head. But for now I'm guessing that you'll be punishing me. Go ahead, it was my stupid plan and I dragged Saji and Issei along. Please, let me take their share of punishment as well. And Koneko too! 4000 spankings is a lot, but it's all my fault to begin with."**

 **"Very well, you'll be receiving 1000 spankings."** Rias raised her magic-imbued palm.

 **"Only 1000? Not that I'm complaining but why so few?"** Still, a thousand spankings from Rias was no laughing matter. Last time he was forced to take that kind of punishment he couldn't sit for two whole days. In anticipation of this he clenched his cheeks hard.

 **"You stood up for what you believed in, not to mention finding and bringing the fight to the enemy. You all worked well as a team, and prevented any more holy swords from falling into the wrong hands. Most importantly, for once nobody got hurt. You still went against your orders, but at least you didn't get in over your head. So, I'll be lenient this time. Just try not to make a habit of disobeying me anymore would you?"**

 **"I promise president. Next time, we all go together. And uh.. could you please not tell Akeno about this? I get the feeling if she knew I rushed into a fight she'd think I'm trying to act stupid to get her attention."**

Rias' arms crossed under her hefty chest again, leaning forward with a raised eyebrow to read him. **"Aren't you though?"**

 **"No! ..Maybe. Gah I don't even know if I'm doing it on purpose anymore or what.. As far as I know I'll never earn her trust back anyway, so maybe I should just try to be-"**

 **"Not another word."** Rias' voice took on a darker note. The aura around her grew heavy and frightening, enough to shut him up on the spot. **"Believe it or not she's waiting on you to make up your mind. You can say all you want but the only way to get through to her is with actions. You can't run away from what happened, and you can't sweep it under the rug either. You two need to sit down and discuss whatever it is that's keeping you apart."**

 **"..will she accept me even though I'm an outcast, not meant to exist? I'm.. an abomination wreaking havoc on this world."**

 **"You're her friend. And judging by last night, a pretty damn good one."** She hugged her servant, smiling softly. **"Nobody asked you to be tough all the time. It's okay to be vulnerable."**

Her words were like a dagger, but there was no way to deny that she was absolutely right. At the very least, the two of them would finally have closure. **"Thanks Rias-senpai."** He hugged her back, then let go as she stood.

 **"Now that that's out of the way, I'll need you to bend over."**

 **"Heh? ... oh. fuck."**

Teiya and Erisu had already been forewarned by Rias that this might happen, and had dampening spells cast over the walls so that the sound of his yelping in pain didn't keep them up. Still, a little part of Teiya giggled in triumph as the muffled cries of her older brother permeated through the wall adjoining their bedroom. Who knew blackmail could be so fun?

~.~

The next day Kumonji woke face down in bed with no bedsheets covering him. As it was, he had to gingerly dress himself and shower under cooler water just to numb the sting. Being a rook was great for his strength and defense, but against a King like Rias Gremory his ass may as well have been tissue standing against a hurricane. As he made his way upstairs to his own bedroom he winced, hoping today would start normally and there would be no issues. As he tapped his knuckles to the door he heard no motion so he ventured to open the door with a hand over his eyes. **"Everyone decent?"** Irina gave a nod and "Mhmm" while Xenovia gave a curt but decisive "Yes" so Kumonji lowered his hand from his eyes.

The sight he beheld was truly amazing, Irina after her shower had borrowed one of his flannel pajama bottoms and a tee shirt that stretched around her generous bust. It was fairly evident that she wasn't wearing a bra but he looked away before she could track his gaze. Xenovia, despite her glaring the night before had gone through his clothes as well and found a button-up shirt that was half done up and open at the cuffs. She too was not wearing a bra, but the way those shorts looked on her.. wait.. **"Are you.. wearing my underwear?"** Indeed, around her waist was his favorite pair of teal undershorts with black stripes up the sides, flowing like perfect silk over her curved hips.

 **"Are these not bicycle shorts? Men have worn these on the road in public, I have seen it."** Xenovia tugged at the elastic above her butt.

 **"Not.. exactly. They look very similar, but the ones for bike riders are usually thicker and more.. padded."** It took every ounce of restraint to keep his eyes above her navel but somehow the rook looked away and faced the door. **"In any case you guys are welcome to stay here as long as you like. You're safe here, or if you want to hide out in the ORC club room during school hours you can do that too great thanks bye!"** He left the room as fast as he could. It was decided, he had definitely spent too much time around Issei.

In school try though he may Kumonji couldn't sit in any halfway comfortable position without wincing, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by Issei.

 **"Yo,"** Whispered Issei **"When did you get back?"**

 **"Last night. Late** _ **late**_ **last night. I could barely even sleep laying face down."** The rook thought for a moment, then surreptitiously checked his phone. No calls from Kiba at all. Nor from Koneko, whom he assumed would have been off following him if she were able to take the school day off. **"Has he called you yet? I wasn't able to keep up with him. I just hope You-Know-who didn't find him and catch him off guard."**

 **"He'll be fine. You saw how he was yesterday, Kiba's finally getting his head on straight."** Issei gave him a thumbs up, but even he only half believed his words. At that moment Matsuda and Motohama showed up, Kumonji's cue to tune out. He looked out to the sky, hoping that Phaes would be at the club room when he gets there, along with Kiba. This morning had been weird, but considering all the things he's seen as a devil this was starting to become normal. _'Or at least as normal as two hot chicks dressed in my clothes can be.'_ The thought of how Xenovia looked in his clothes hung up in his mind, he couldn't get over how attractive she looked to him like that. But quickly his thoughts had shifted, and instead he found himself daydreaming of Akeno in that getup, holding him, kissing him..

 **"Oh Kumonji, just like that you naughty naughty boy!"**

 _ **-Whap-ap-ap!-**_

 **"NOBODY ASKED YOU!"** The rook screamed out after pimpslapping all three perverts huddled around the front of his desk. Issei having said it had taken the brunt of the hit and was sprawled out over the floor alongside Matsuda and Motohama with his broken glasses. The redhead walked away and went to the belltower today. For some reason the idea of sitting under his usual cherry tree didn't appeal to him, almost like a gut instinct that he needed to go this way.

As fate would have it, he was right. The moment he was out of the line of sight for everyone below Phaes' summoning matrix appeared on the ground and she apparated in her human form by his side.

 **"Big bro, are you still worried about your friend?"** She had grown slightly taller but side by side it was silly to compare them. Kumonji chuckled at the thought that two Phaes' put together would only just be taller than he was.

 **"Kiba? Yeah I suppose I am a little bit. I can't do anything to find him without leaving the school, but I still wanna make sure he's okay and that we get to him first if that's possible."** As he looked over at the old school building where the club room was he noticed several streaks of light vanish into the bright afternoon air, unnoticed by anyone below. **"..Phaes my dear serpentine familiar, would you be willing to take a few looks around for me? Just go around town as you are and see if you can find Kiba."** He reached into the back pocket of his pants and produced a small notebook with a pencil. He quickly sketched a drawing of Kiba's face and description. **"He was last seen in the woods away from town near that old run down building. Try not to use any magic or look out of place if you can help it. Just.. Act like you're a cosplayer or something."**

She got a good long look at his sketch and nodded, tucking it away in her shirt. **"Okay, but after that I wanna be able to nap all day. And herring! The good kind, not some cheap market crap!"** She stuck her forked tongue out at him and reverse-summoned herself away.

 **"Hahahaha.. Well she's got spunk and a mind of her own, there's no doubt about that. Oh well, guess it's back to class."**

Later, in the club room, everyone was assembled as the familiars all went about looking for Kiba. Normally Kiba on his own wouldn't warrant any need for concern, but considering that not only Freed but Kokabiel as well were out on the hunt for any target they could find Rias, Akeno, Kumonji, Issei, Asia, and especially Koneko were rightfully nervous. It had been well into the afternoon and looking like it would get dark soon when Rias was contacted by her bat familiar that Kiba had been sighted along a dirt path on the other side of the city, thankfully in one piece and walking under his own power. At once the entire ORC got up and ported themselves to his location. Kiba was sat on a wooden fence with Bat-chan beside him. As the group approached she reverted to her animal form and flew to Rias' shoulder while Kiba stood.

 **"Unfortunately they got away. I tried to keep up as best as I could but even so Valper out ran me. I tried finding them after I lost them but I have no idea where they went."** Kiba shook his head in defeat and sighed, finding Koneko around his waist in a big hug shortly after. It was cute, until she charliehorsed his leg.

 **"That's what you get for making me worry about you again."** And of course after a few hops on one foot while swearing Kiba settled down and they hugged again.

 **"Awww how touching."** A mocking clap could be heard from the treeline behind them as Freed stepped out into the open.

 **"Suddenly it wreaks of hipocrisy.. Oh look, if it isn't the Catholic church. And what's this? No little Timmy glued to your crotch.. progress!"** Kumonji had to thank YouTube for that one-liner; this life or the last, that would always be pretty damn funny.

 **"Now what have we here? If it isn't the 'We-All-Fell-For-the-Trap' club."** He chuckled and turned this way and that, holding a sheathed sword in both hands. Rias and Akeno both charged up their attacks, but Freed oddly enough raised a hand. **"Hey hey, don't fry the messenger Red. After all, there's someone here who would like to talk to you.. MY BOSS!"**

Above them all, a fallen angel with 10 black feathered wings hovered, menacing down with those damned eyes. Even his smile was sadistic by nature. It could only be the same figure that Kumonji had encountered the other night. On instinct, the rook reached into his pocket and hit the speed dial for his sister, turning the speakers on his side down.

 **"Kokabiel."** Rias muttered under her breath, her marquis fading from her outstretched hand.

 **"It's a pleasure to meet you, sister of the devil king."** The one known as Kokabiel called down. **"I have no doubt you're aware of who I am."**

 **"The pleasure is all mine, and please call me Rias. So** _ **you're**_ **the leader of the dark angels, I presume."**

 **"Your crimson hair is quite breathtaking, just as lovely as your dear Brother's. And what's this, do I detect another of the family Gremory standing behind you?"** Kokabiel leered at Kumonji, who only glared back. **"Even the facial expressions you make remind me so much of the scarlet haired devil king. How utterly nauseating."**

 **"I doubt you came all this way and made such a fuss to discuss appearances. Why don't you just skip to the part where you tell us your agenda. Not that I'm rushing you, it's actually so rare an occurrence to see a leader class so close up on the battlefield."** Rias spat back.

 **"Very well, if you want to know I plan on doing a bit of damage while I'm here. Perhaps I'll start with that school of yours and radiate outward to the town until there's nothing left."** Kokabiel retorted, biting back a venomous chuckle as the devils below him flinched.

 **"Why would you want to harm our school?"** Rias was genuinely curious. Of all the places to start Kuoh academy was highly unorthodox to say the least.

 **"I figure if I do so, Sir Zechs himself will have to emerge in order to bail out his darling little sister. What do you think?"**

 **"If you do that, you'll be starting the war between God, the Devil and Fallen angels all over again."**

 **"Better than what I got for stealing the Holy Sword Excalibur fragments, that's for sure. I could have sworn Michael would have come after me for that, but only to be disappointed. All I got instead were a handful of amateur exorcists and two pathetic Holy Sword users. What a joke"**

 **"So that was your goal, you actually plan to start a war?** _ **The**_ **War** _ **?**_ **"** Akeno seemed terrified by this. For her to be afraid, Rias must be feeling it too. This was no laughing matter, a fact which didn't escape any of them.

 **"Freaking warmonger.."** Kumonji muttered aloud.

 **"Yes.. Yeeeeesss.."** The hiss of pleasure as Kokabiel closed his eyes for a moment sent a shiver up the many devils' collective spines. **"After the first Three Way War ended I was so bored with nothing to do. Azazel and Shemhazai were so passive about when the next one would start."**

 **"Wait a sec, I know those names.."** Issei said quietly. Kumonji looked over to see if he had pieced it together yet, though Kumonji was now getting the feeling that his evening with Azazel might have had darker intentions than at first he realized. Azazel could have been sizing up the Kuoh forces, determining if the time was right to strike.. ' _Damn him.'_ **"Raynare! She made mention of them before.."** A pang hit Issei's chest at the thought of his betrayer, but he shook his head and focused on the enemy at hand.

 **"Azazel is the Governor-General of all Fallen Angels."** Rias said in a sidelong manner, keeping her eyes fixed on Kokabiel.

 **"That Azazel, not only is he acting passively about the upcoming war and distracting himself, he's taken it upon himself to fixate on collecting those stupid toys he calls Sacred Gears. He's always so immersed in his collection."** Kokabiel waved his hand dismissively, as if the very idea of Sacred Gears were bugs before him.

 **"Freaking Psychopath, it's not bad enough he has to gather the Excaliburs, but now the Fallen Angels are planning on taking Sacred Gears too?"** Kumonji clenched his fist tighter, Issei already had his Red Dragon on and at the ready.

 **"Don't be a fool, I have little interest in your trinkets at the moment, although I do confess to thinking how it may serve me well to take them and weaponize them. I'll leave that to Azazel for now."** Kokabiel eyed the Red Dragon and looked to Kumonji, who hadn't summoned his yet.

 **"As if I'd allow the likes of you to so much as touch our weapons."** Issei spat.

The Fallen Angel grinned maliciously and continued his rambling. **"Fallen Angels, God, and Devils; how they all hang in a state of equilibrium at the moment, dangling from a spider's thread until the next stone falls. Which means, I can start the next Great War with my own two hands."**

 **"You're a complete maniac."** Rias shouted up to him.

 **"Obviously! Why else would I use the Devils this time? I've got you, Rias Gremory, sister of the devil king, and at your institution this very moment sits Sona Sitri, little sister of Leviathan. If I head there now I have no doubt the abundance of power will make the perfect warzone. The only question is if it'll be enough chaos to end this boring armistace."** Kokabiel's killing intent and smug grin both grew, having probed far enough now.

 **"That's insane!"** Kiba just barely kept his volume in check.

 **"Yeah but I think he's dead serious. That's totally messed up."** Koneko said, frowning more than usual.

From the ground under his ally, Freed laughed maniacally. Kumonji swore to himself that this time would be the one that ended Freed for good.

 **"Don't you just love how crazy he gets? It's getting me all excited just thinking about it. And look.. I BROUGHT TOYS!"** The priest opened his jacket, but Kumonji shielded his eyes. **"Bad Touch, Bad Touch!"** When he opened them he found that Freed was carrying not one but three Excaliburs, one that appeared to have a guard that spiraled over the hands and up around the blade, while the other seemed to be clunky and rounded with a straight blade and a grip for two hands.

 **"Damn, he has two more Excaliburs to use and knowing him that could mean danger."** Issei got tense, things just got really bad really fast.

 **"The best part, you damned pest, is that they're all in hyper state and ready to use at the drop of a hat.. Who's your daddy?"** The psycho priest added with a dark chuckle. **"If only I were able to score that Excalibur Mimic from the slut in pigtails. Oh well, nothing says I can't kill her later and take it!"**

 **"So little sister of Sir Zechs, what do you think? Is today not a beautiful day.. for WAR?"** With that he charged his attack, unloading a barrage of energy beams that seemed to twist as they rained down, impacting the dirt as everyone scattered under Rias' direction. As Rias and Akeno raised a shield to help guard their retreat, several explosions kicked up dust, covering the Fallen Angel and Priest's hasty retreat.

 **"Dammit, which way did they run off to?"** Issei shouted, biting back his anger.

Koneko, from high in a tree pointed off in the distance at the direction of Kuoh. **"I saw him take off that way. He's headed to the school!"**

Kumonji pulled his phone from his pocket, catching his breath. **"Got that Teiya? Warn Sona immediately, and if Irina and Xenovia are home with you, tell them to either stay there or come help. We're gonna need every helping hand we can get."**

 **"On it bro! Be careful out there."** With that his younger sister hung up on him and began dialing furiously. _'He'd better live, or I'm gonna kill him..'_

 **"Guys, he said he was going to** _ **start**_ **at Kuoh.. We gotta stop him before he lays waste to the whole town!"** Issei looked concerned at everyone. They all exchanged glances at one another, sharing the same thought.

 **"Time to nut up or shut up."** Sen no Buki materialized over Kumonji's body, thicker now than before.

 **"Right, we're headed for Kuoh Academy,"** Rias declared, turning on heel to prepare a large jump circle back to the club room. Everyone followed with a unified cry of determination.

An idea struck Kumonji, and he stopped. **"You all go on ahead, I need to do something first."**

 **"There's no time!"** Rias shouted.

 **"Trust me."** Kumonji turned his back, allowing his wings to sprout and kicking off into the air. Akeno had that concerned look on her face, and Rias while not happy still believed in what he said the night before. While flying toward Kuoh as the dusk approached Kumonji flipped through his contacts and called Matsu, hoping she was in front of a computer screen as usual.

 **"..Hello?"**

 **"Matsu! Please tell me you're in front of your computer at the moment?"**

 **"Yeah, but why?"**

 **"I need you to do me a favor and after that I'll owe you anything you want. I'm about to fight a really bad dude with some anti-devil arsenal and I need to know exactly what I'm up against. From what I could tell the guys I'm about to beat the crap out of had holy sword fragments, which made up the original Excalibur. If you can, I need you to hack into the Vatican database and see if you can find any information, there are supposed to be seven fragments in total."**

On the other end he could hear her knuckles cracking, followed by her fingers clacking feverishly away on the keyboard while murmuring her progress. **"Quick search: Vatican.. there's the network.. locate main database.. bypass the firewall and security programs.. pfft, amateurs, who puts 12345 as a password? Oh, Okay got it! Looks like you were right, there are 7 scattered across different nations and churches. Which ones are you looking for?"**

 **"Whichever are most likely to be weaponizable. In descending order of likelihood in your opinion."** Kumonji flapped his wings. He was already halfway to the school, he would need to think fast.

 **"Okay, first one that comes to mind is Excalibur of Destruction, then Excalibur Mimic.."**

 **"Both of those are on our side, I hope.."** Irina and Xenovia had still made no attempt to contact him, which made him worry. What if they took the opportunity to wipe out all the devils and take back the holy swords from Freed after he was worn down?

 **"Excalibur Rapidly?"** Matsu ventured, clicking on the data specs for all of them and eliminating the choices as they went through them all.

 **"He has that one for sure. Already saw it in action, that's one mean mother sword.."**

 **"Right, after that would be Excalibur Divine Intervention."** She brought up an image of it on screen.

 **"What does it look like?"** Kumonji had only caught a glimpse of the two other swords up the priest's coat but they were pretty unique.

 **"Very.. Spiral-y. Like it's got swirls over everything, even the blade itself."** With a few clicks she sent a copy of the image to his phone, which he looked at and nodded.

 **"That's one of them. The other was really plain, kinda like an old gladiator blade with bevels in it."** Kumonji watched her flip through the schematics and brought up the one he mentioned.

 **"Oh no, it's Excalibur Transparency. This is bad, if he can use this that means he can go fully invisible without being detected. And if you said he has Rapidly he can also move around at superhuman speeds. Divine Intervention has a guard over the blade at all times because it's used defensively, casting an aura of light around the user to make them impervious to just about anything."** Matsu skimmed quickly through all of their specs and tried to find any weaknesses that may be listed. **"Frankly speaking you had better hope he can't dual-wield."**

 **"Yeah, no shit. I had a hard enough time against you when you just had one weapon and plenty of training. I could be going up against a fast, invisible.. tank."** Kumonji arrived over the fence of Kuoh and descended in awe. From way up high he could see the light of a grand circle with many tentacle-like arms extended outward ending in smaller circles of light magic. Whatever this was, it didn't look good at all. They all spiraled around one another, as if every smaller rotation amplified the next one above it until they all pooled at the center. Standing there within that center, none other than Valper himself. Beside him stood Freed, and jammed into the ground were the three Excaliburs they had collected, glowing with light.

At that exact moment, Irina showed up beside Kumonji. **"What are they doing?"**

Her eyes widened in realization. **"They're.. They're going to fuse them all into one very powerful Holy Sword!"** She drew Excalibur Mimic from her arm and lashed it out, trying to catch one of them, any of them and reel them back out. **"Wait, Irina NO!"** However, the moment she was able to wrap Mimic around the handle of Transparency the light from the circle erupted into a bright column.

The four Holy swords were consumed and spun madly toward each other, with the band of Mimic's cable binding them all. Xenovia landed beside them both and made a move to lash out but Kumonji grabbed her shoulder. **"Don't! If they add a fifth sword to that we won't stand a chance."**

Behind them, Rias and everyone else appeared. Above, Sona and everyone in the Sitri peerage were chanting and raising a dome around Kuoh. Kumonji peeked up and caught a glimpse of Teiya. She nodded at him before the barrier covered her from sight. _'Don't worry sis, I'm getting outta here in one piece.'_ The barrier erected quickly and glimmered as it set, resembling a diamond with the hollow inside full of activity. This was it, Devils vs the potential end of the world. **"..No pressure."**

 **"The barrier will hold as long as we maintain our focus, nothing will get in or out so if you have to do anything drastic don't worry about the collateral."** Sona declared to Rias via Magic Earpiece communication. **"This only remains true as long as the conditions out here are unchanged."**

 **"Understood, thank you Sona."** Rias replied, walking up to the edge of the hill where Kumonji, Irina and Xenovia were. **"There you are. Exactly where did you have to run off to like that?"**

Kumonji turned and waved at Rias. **"Gathering Intel. According to Matsu the four fragments bound in that sword are Rapidly, Divine Intervention, Transparency, and Mimic. Basically they just forged the ultimate devil hunting device, and we just threw ourselves into the cage to tame it."**

 **"Rias.."** Sona's voice came through once again, loud enough now that everyone could hear her. **"It's not too late, you can still call your brother for help."**

 **"Right after you call your sister, Sona."** Rias said with a smirk. There was no reply.

 **"And you guys think I have sibling issues.."**

 **"I heard that Kumonji!"** Teiya screamed. It was hard to tell whether she used a spell or simply shouted, but either way it was like a cannon going off.

 **"Rias, it's okay. I've already called Sir Zechs for help."** Akeno stepped forward, putting her hand on Rias' shoulder. **"I understand that you don't want to be a burden to your brother, but this is a Leader-Class Fallen Angel. This isn't going to be an easy fight, he's no pushover. We're going to need his help."**

 **"An exception to every rule, right Prez?"** Issei pumped his fist to himself.

Rias glanced at her best friend, seeing her smile lightly. Even Akeno could be sweet and thoughtful. Seeing that there would be no winning, Rias faked a huff and smiled as well. **"Fiiiiine~ There really is no winning against you is there?"**

 **"Don't say that, I like to think we're almost always on the same side."** Akeno grinned. **"Sir Zechs' forces should be arriving within the hour."**

 **"Right, in that case, let's try to have this mess cleaned up before they show."** Kumonji stated with a righteous fury burning behind his determined smile. Together they all walked through the school grounds, taking note of any traps that may have been left behind. Thankfully the hastily done retreat had left the two priests and Kokabiel pressed for time, so the entire school was thankfully free of any surprises.

 **"Issei, I want you on support this time. Use your powers to transfer extra strength to the rest of us."** Rias commanded as they walked through the main building.

 **"Right!"**

 **"The rest of us will just have to stall for time until Issei can give us all a leg up."** The king addressed to everyone else. **"Make no mistake, our fight this time is for our lives. Unlike our fight with Riser, there are no do-overs and no time outs. But we will win my dear servants, count on that!"**

A chorus of cheers was heard from all.

 **"Our best bet is to keep on the offensive, we have the number advantage 3 to 1 guys. Assuming we can keep them from getting too far into the school, we ought to have them on their heels."** Kumonji turned to Kiba and tapped on his shoulder. **"As a team, all together now."** With that he spun over his shoulder to regard Irina and Xenovia.

Kiba looked at him in a moment of awe, then nodded and braced himself. His friends had his back, that was all he ever really needed.

 **"Right, Promotion to Queen."** Issei became embossed by a spectral Queen piece, feeling his power surge once more.

Getting to the wide open field behind the school took no time once everyone redoubled their efforts. It still seemed so far away, and yet there it was the pillar of light gathering in size still. The many blades had melded and were as of yet amorphous but beginning to take some type of shape.

 **"It would seem that the four Excaliburs were made into one. How interesting. So will dear older brother be showing up, or perhaps Serafall?"**

 **"I'm hurt Kokabiel, aren't we enough for you?"** Kumonji quipped. **"Personally I thought you'd be ecstatic to warm up a little before the main event."**

 **"Mind your tongue boy, it will warrant the end of you."** The fallen angel shot back with a foul smirk. **"Pray tell, I never caught your name. Are you a Gremory as well?"**

 **"Tokumatsu Kumonji, at your service."** The rook stared up at the dark-winged man riding his throne in the sky. For a moment it looked as though the fallen angel douchenozzle faltered or flinched.

 **"Impossible,"** Then came that dirty little grin again. **"Very well, I shall put you and your name to the test."** With the snap of his fingers he summoned a spear of light into the palm of his hand, launching it at the gym. The first time Kumonji saw the gym blown to bits he had to stifle a sob at seeing a monument to fitness go up in smoke. This time however, there was no trace such a place ever existed. The explosion kicked everyone to one side, while Kokabiel merely laughed and shook his head.

For a moment Kumonji witnessed Issei and Ddraig talking quietly, then turned his attention back to the area where the Excaliburs were being fused. **"Right, Rias: Kiba Xenovia and I will try to take out that Holy Sword weapon while you guys stall him. Irina, stay back. We'll try to get that holy sword into your hands but for now take cover."** The rook, knight, and two church members vanished toward the battleground that held their greatest enemies. **"Don't worry, the only ones to die today are them."**

Rias let her servants go, staring back up at the leader alongside Akeno, Asia, and Issei. There was a flash of lightning as Kokabiel summoned his 'pets,' as he called them.

Off in the distance was the grandest circle of light. Kumonji turned and found the column was building in strength by the second, sending a very unsettling churn through his stomach. Turning back to the field of battle at hand Cerberus crawled from the pit from which he was summoned and looked very pissed.

 **"Living at the gates of Hell it's the Watchdog of Hades.."** Koneko said, the hair on her head bristling much like a cat's hackles.

 **"To bring Cerberus here is forbidden, let's send it back. Akeno, Koneko, do your stuff."** Rias gave the order with absolute authority, this battle with a Leader class Fallen Angel would certainly be no light spar.

 _ **"Right!"**_ they replied in unison. Akeno transformed her outfit to her priestess attire in a flash, gathering up a boundless reserve of power as she focused her energies into a very fine point. Koneko strapped on her gloves extra tightly, all three girls pushing up off the ground with spread wings to take the aerial advantage.

 **"Issei,"** called Rias **"Begin boosting our power with your sacred gear!"**

 **"You got it. Boosted.. GEAR!** _ **-Boost!-**_ **Get back Asia, those three can handle this puppy."** Issei gestured for Asia, Kumonji, Irina, Kiba, and Xenovia to all take a few steps back. Looking off in the distance Kiba, Kumonji and Xenovia all exchanged glances knowing what must be done. Koneko unleashed a barrage of high powered kicks between the three faces of one beast, Akeno froze the feet of another only to call down a massive thunderbolt, and Rias sent spell after spell at all three causing several explosions of pure destructive energy. From behind, Irina screamed as a yet unseen fourth one lept to pounce while spewing fire. Jumping in to save her Xenovia pushed them both out of the way, rolling to the side.

 **"Irina, get out of there and find someplace safe to hide!"** Kumonji shouted, taking the fight to the dog.

 **"But-"**

 **"No buts! You don't have your Excalibur anymore so unless you can fight hand to hand you'll only put yourself in danger."** He held the center mouth open in front of his face, standing his ground as he pushed back. The two other heads nipped at him but Kiba and Xenovia stabbed through the soft tissue underneath and set it reeling backward in a bloody mess. **"If you get hurt you'll just be in the way."**

It stung, but she knew he was right. She couldn't do much without her weapon she wouldn't be able to help. With tears in her eyes she fell back toward the school.

 **"She could have used one of my swords."** Kiba pointed out, standing over the defeated Cerberus as he sunk the length of his sword into its head.

 **"A holy sword wielder using a devil's weapon? Such a thing is blasphemous, not to mention the light inside her would reject the dark."** Xenovia retorted.

 **"It's possible, she could have fought. But last time even with her Holy Sword against Freed and Kokabiel combined you and I had to defend her Xenovia. As much of a dick as it makes me look to her I would rather hurt her feelings than see her killed. We were friends once, that counts for something."** The rook looked between the two, then over at the field where the holy pillar was coming to a conclusion. **"No time to yell at me now, we've got work to do. Issei, power up as high as you can. I've got absolute faith in you."**

They exchanged a glance of determination, then the three set off.

 **"Where are you three going?!"** Rias called, dodging simultaneous attacks from three heads of the same beast.

 **"You all handle things here, we've got a Holy Weapon and two knob gobblers to stop."** Kumonji shouted as he ran backwards. **"Don't worry, things won't get out of hand. We'll fall back if there's any trouble."** Kiba called to her. **"Take him down, we'll meet up with you shortly."** Xenovia sped off as fast as she could after the two devils.

The three arrived in a rush, skidding to a halt as a blinding flash of light signalled the end of the ritual.

 **"It is complete!"** Valper exclaimed with a satisfied chuckle. **"With this the very ground you stand on will be naught but a pile of ash and rubble within 20 minutes. I'd flee if I were you, not that it would do much to save you pitiful creatures."**

 **"I'm pretty sick of your face already Valper Galilei. I'm a survivor of the Holy Sword Project, or rather the slaughter of innocent children you tried to justify and sweep under the rug. Thanks to Rias I was able to survive by reincarnating as a devil, and at that moment I refused to die until the day I could avenge my comrades. You've plagued this Earth far too long."** Kiba traded his light sword for a medium sized one with two edges. **"You won't leave here alive."**

 **"Let's not rush in this time Kiba. We separate we die, end of story."** The rook put his hand on his friend's shoulder to help calm him.

 **"He's right. Don't be foolish."** Xenovia flourished her blade. **"We end him, but without killing ourselves in the process."**

 **"That's enough from you all. Freed, you know what to do. Leave no survivors, and please try not to make too much of a mess."** Valper began to walk away as the psycho priest picked up the newly forged weapon.

 **"Sure thing boss. So, who will it be? Anyone volunteer to be on the pointy end of my stabby-stick first?"** That stupid smirk of his was growing irksome. He raised the weapon high and glanced between the three. **"How about.. you!"** He vanished in a blur of speed that left Xenovia almost no room for error. She brought her own sword up to catch his and found that Kiba was at her side with his sword also blocking for her. She looked over at him and he smiled back, brow furrowed. **"Together,"** Kiba said.

 **"You shouldn't let your enemies get behind you, Freed."** The priest froze in shock, hearing the rook's voice so close behind him. **"For all the shit you've put me through, I condemn you.."** Turning around he saw that Kumonji was crouched low, middle and index fingers clasped together and pointed straight out covered in adamantium. Freed had no time to react as the four fingered attack jabbed him full force right between the back pockets, sending him skyrocketing 20 feet in the air with a pained yelp. **"1000 YEARS OF DEATH!"**

 **"..So vulgar."** Xenovia cringed and shook her head. Kiba merely facepalmed.

 **"He killed me and my sister, I'd say he deserved it. YA HEAR THAT FREED YOU COCKSUCKER, I TOLD YOU MY FIST WOULD GO UP YOUR ASS SOMEDAY!"** The rook laughed in triumph. Outside the barrier Teiya was watching, blanching at her older brother's bizarre tactics.

 **"I'm not related to him. I swear we're adopted."** She said to Saji, who merely shrugged.

Having cooled his head a little, Kumonji started tramping his way over to where Freed had fallen, only to get jerked back by the collar as a heavy golden blade passed before his eyes. The swing was so quick his Sen no Buki couldn't cover his eyes fast enough, sending out a glint of sparks as it caught the very tip of the blade.

 **"You'll pay for that Devil scum."** The priest looked downright pissed now. Over his shoulder Valper took one look and started running off.

 **"Kiba, don't let Galilei get away! Xenovia and I will handle this ass clown."** Getting back to his feet he deployed an exoskeleton over his torso and biceps only. _'It'll be enough of a pain trying to keep up with him bare, but I need some kind of armor if I plan on staying in one piece.'_ Kiba dashed off after Valper, little more than a blur.

 **"Come back, you!"** Freed turned to chase him but was blocked by the bluenette and her Holy Sword.

 **"You go no further, disgraceful excuse for a man of God!"** She put her full weight behind the swing, prepared to end it. To her surprise the sword of destruction was stopped by the aura surrounding Freed, no doubt part of Divine Intervention at work. **"What?!"**

 **"Surprise!"** the nutjob shouted, counterattacking with both hands. The moment his sword moved the guard of Divine Intervention shattered. At once both she and Kumonji had the same thought: _'He's only impervious when he's not attacking!'_

Kumonji redirected his armor to the palm of his hand. This hypothesis would need testing, but if the armor has weak spots and loopholes there may yet be hope. He gripped tightly onto the false rapier in his hand. Freed stood at the ready, brandishing the almagamate. The priest made the first move, striking madly with wide swings and jabs that were easy to avoid as long as he paid attention. Once an opportunity presented itself, Kumonji sidestepped a thrust and got a glancing blow on the rosary hanging from his neck. The rook smirked and twirled his blade to cut the thing loose. Now enraged, Freed began another bout of attacks, much faster this time, causing Kumonji to only be able to put up a full shield and repel the barrage the only way he knew how. _'Dammit, he's sloppy but still so fast.. I wish I were as fast as Kiba for once..'_ He opened his defense and gained some ground as Freed forced him back, skidding along the dirt.

 **"Had enough yet? I'm rather liking this turn of events."** He let his tongue loll out of his mouth..

 **"You should keep your mouth shut."** His amorphous blob of a shield re-shaped the thin long blade he held a moment ago. **"Or I'll cut that damned tongue from your head."** Kumonji stepped nimbly in, careful to keep his guard up. He would press the attack, _he_ would dictate the cadance of the fight. The redhead locked his eyes on his enemy, keeping his sword moving and causing him to always guess where the next attack would be. This would end it, right now.

one: Kumonji stepped in, keeping his weight low and _Jette!_ Freed batted it to one side, watching his sword instead of Kumonji's eyes. Foolish mistake.

two: A low swing toward his shins. The priest stumbled back a half step but Kumonji was right there on top of him. Freed raised his Excalibur to counterattack. Just as planned.

three: Parry his reckless swing in a wide arc, opening his stance and waiting for the moment when his perfect defense was down and the target was open. There it is!

four: The redhead brough his parry full circle and slapped the flat of his blade against Freed's forearm. For good measure, twist the blade and drag the edge over his arm to cut any tendons and render the threat helpless. Freed winced as the stinging slap was followed by a gash that sent a spatter of blood across his clothes.

 _'Five: Finish him, bring the pointed end of my sword right between his GOD DAMNED EYES!'_ The adamantium point stabbed exactly where he wanted, this was it, he had done it.

In an instant, that idea was sunk. Somehow, Freed had managed to keep his grip on Excalibur, long enough to allow his holy aura to protect him from the otherwise fatal blow. To make matters worse, The blade had mashed against his skull and only drew a single droplet of blood, then was sent backward like an exploded banana.

 **"Seems we all like swords. Well how about we play a game of hide and go die? I'll be it first. Ready?"** At that the air around Freed wavered and his body became nothing more than a translucent image. In the blink of an eye he was gone entirely, vanished from sight. The two stood back to back, preparing for the worst. This was bad, he was fast and invisible now. Look around all they like neither of them could see so much as a hint as to where he was. No air ripples, not a whisper of breath.

 **"Eyes up, chin down. He can't lay in hiding for too long."** Kumonji stood listening for a second. Not a sound.

 **"-** _ **gasp-**_ **Kiba!"** Xenovia suddenly followed the direction she saw Kiba going, thinking Freed was going to go after him first.

 **"Xenovia wait!"** If Kumonji knew him better, he knew that Freed would pick her off when she left. He reached out for her, trying to warn her that she was about to be killed. The sound of his chortle sounded so very loud as the sound of metal sliced through the air and contacted flesh.

The blood sprayed everywhere. His eyes widened. There was no way he could have been prepared for that.

Standing right beside him, Freed had snuck so close that Kumonji could smell his nasty breath. The madman had cleaved off Kumonji's right arm just above the elbow, sending it flying high into the air.

 **"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGHHHH!"**

 **"KUMONJI!"** Teiya screamed in horror, having to watch as her brother screamed and writhed.

 **"Teiya! That's enough."** Tsubaki cut her off from the other side of the barrier. **"You need to keep your focus, no matter what."** Even as she said the words, her hands shook as well. She could see the whole battle from where she was. The other side wasn't going any smoother.

 **"Poor little devil scum. Too bad you've just been.. DISARMED. WAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"** Freed turned his back and traipsed around, swinging the remnants of blood from his Excalibur. On the ground, Kumonji was in shock and agony. He called his Sacred Gear, but it could only meekly cover the stump of his arm as he clutched it.

 _ **Is that it?**_

That voice again.. His sacred gear.

 _ **Is that really all you've got? Come on, I know there's more potential in you than that. Don't you dare quit on me now!**_

 _Yes Ma'am! I'll do it if you help me. SERAS!_

He stood, seeing the rat bastard standing on his arm with his boot. **"My my, you can still stand. I'm impressed. I would have thought the light would be burning you from inside by n-"** Kumonji moved at a blinding speed, bodychecking Freed with a left hand to the gut for good measure. Freed was knocked backward and winded as Kumonji bent down and picked up his severed limb.

 _ **I can't reattach it for you, but I can at least do this.**_ The rook put the cut end against the cold metal where his wound was. To his surprise his sacred gear coated the limb in a thin layer of the dull silver. He tried to wiggle his fingers and found that he was able to control everything perfectly. _**I've stopped the bleeding for now, but this fight will need to end soon. You need medical treatment or you'll lose it for good. I'd say maybe 5 minutes at best.**_

 **"5 minutes, huh? That's enough time to finish this guy, get fixed, and kill that cocksucker Kokabiel too."** The rook punctuated his statement with a crack of his mortal knuckles. **"Motherfuckers should have worn their brown pants."**

 _ **Oh, and about your language..**_

 **"Tell me about it after the fight is over. Besides, I'm a teenage devil."** Freed stood, then waved his sword warily and turned invisible again.

 _ **Close your eyes. Really take in the battlefield.**_ Kumonji did as she instructed, allowing his other senses to really take over. _**Imagine a third eye in the middle of your forehead, perceive the world through all 5 senses at once.**_ He could hear the rustling of leaves, the smell of dust being kicked up. The feel of someone's eyes on the back of his head.

He wheeled around and without thinking raised his right hand to fire a vacuum bullet at Freed. To his surprise, the adamantium sparked against itself and spewed a large stream of bright cherry red flames that expanded and scorched everything they touched before dying.

 **"Hot! Hot! Fucking Hot!"** Freed's voice could be heard, and a few flames danced in mid air until the psychopath dispelled his invisibility and threw off his flaming overcoat trying to stamp it out.

 **"Always knew you were a flamer."** The rook ran at him, ready to take him down for good. Excalibur raised, poised to stab through him. Kumonji waited until he was close, then brought his knuckles of his right hand to the inside of Freed's elbow and made him bring the blade around, only to stab himself in the foot as Kumonji pushed the blade through his foot.

 **"Gaaah! What the HELL?!"** He tried beating at the young man but Kumonji pushed back and pointed his forefingers again. **"W-what the hell are you doing?"**

This time, however, Kumonji's fingers stabbed forcefully into his torso, shoulders, arms, legs, and head. With each strike he grew faster and more focused, grunting and biting harder into his enemy's core. Freed felt every single impact, but this was too precise and delicate to be an attack. Or so he thought, until Kumonji struck one last time in the sternum. He couldn't move, every part of his body froze as the redhead stepped back. **"What did you do to me you devil scum?"** Freed could only watch as the rook reached for his front pocket and produced a folding knife.

 **"This was on me the day you shot me in that alley. I've kept it every day for personal defense. I've never used it."** He flipped the blade open. It was three inches long, serrated at the bottom and sharpened to a fine point. The dull metal looked exactly like his armor. **"I could easily kill you. Stab you in the jugular and walk away as you slowly bleed out.. Slit your throat. Maybe carve out your eyes and cut out your tongue. Fuck, I could even cut off your balls. But I'm not like you. You're beaten by a devil, and one you wounded no less. Live with that."** He closed the blade on itself and punched Freed in the neck as hard as he could. Whether or not he ruptured anything he didn't care, but from the amount of blood he was spitting up he wouldn't last. Freed rocked to his hands and knees, standing and pulling Excalibur from his foot.

 **"I will kill you. I WILL KILL ALL OF YOU!"** The madman proclaimed, swinging at Kumonji's head to cleave it in two. The rook ducked to the side and avoided the Holy Sword, then grasped Freed's face in his metal hand.

 **"You're done."** Freed growled lowly, only to be silenced as a wet crunch emanated from his forehead. Kumonji pushed his body backward into the dust, sliding him off the spike he produced from the center of his palm. The spike dripped with Freed's blood as it retracted and Kumonji left him there a broken man with an abomination weapon.

 _ **You have only 3 minutes left. I'd hurry.**_

 **"Sure thing Seras. And thank you. If I don't keep my arm and die from blood loss, I'm glad to have fought by your side all this time."**

Inside his head the vampire blushed and smiled. _**Let's just get you back in one piece, shall we?**_

He rejoined with Kiba and Xenovia, who stood over a small crater. Kiba seemed different somehow, tears had fallen from his eyes and he held a new sword, a mix of light and dark metal with inscriptions up the center. Alongside him standing over what could only be what was left of Valper was Xenovia, who also had a new weapon in hand.

 **"Looks like I've missed a lot."** Kumonji said, gesturing for them to follow.

 **"You could say that. Freed?"** Kiba asked, looking over where Kumonji came.

 **"Dead, at a cost. Valper?"**

 **"Same."** Replied Xenovia. **"But with something gained as well."**

As they made the short trip back they found everyone had stopped fighting and were staring up at Kokabiel in shock and awe.

 **"What did you just say?"** Asked Akeno, her arms covering her torn shirt.

 **"I really am trying to start a war aren't I? Oh well, no point in hiding it now. In the last three way war, God and the Three Great Devil Kings were all killed. Of course you wouldn't hear the truth, since Michael and the remaining Devil King wanted to stifle any sort of panic. How sad to know that all you've been fighting for, the factions you cling to so desperately have been lost all along and you didn't even know."** Kokabiel grinned malevolently.

 **"You BASTARD!"** Rias charged another of her black flames to fire at Kokabiel and let it fly, firing off several others to follow. Akeno raised one arm to keep herself modest and attempted to catch him off guard from above.

Kiba, still catching his breath, went rather red in the face seeing that Koneko had lost part of her skirt and half of her shirt, facing away with her backside showing her heart-covered panties. In fact, they all looked pretty worse for wear with scuffs and torn clothes. Asia was the first to notice that the three had returned, but regarded the torn sleeve of Kumonji's shirt and saw that there was blood on the end, ignoring of course that his entire arm was encased in metal.

 **"Issei,"** Kumonji said with labored breath. **"How fast can you boost Asia's power?"**

 **"Whoa, Monji, what happened? You look like shit dude."** Issei wheeled seeing that his friend was pretty bad off.

 **"Feel like shit too. I need Asia's help, high powered healing asap. Can you make it happen?"** The redhead had only a minute left, there was no time to stall.

 **"I'll try man, but I've gifted everyone and I still need time-"**

 **"If you do this for me right now I swear to fuck I will never beat you again for being a pervert and take the next 5 appointments you have with Milton!"**

 _ **BOOST!BOOST!BOOST!BOOST!BOOST!TRANSFER!**_

 **"You got yourself a deal!"** Issei said.

 **"Asia, this is gonna hurt like a mother, but no matter what don't let up. Okay Seras, let's reattach this bad boy!"** On command Seras dropped the coating on his arm. The severed limb began to fall, shocking everyone who saw. Still in midair, a cable of the dull metal shot from the bone inside him and grabbed the end of his humerus in the dismembered end, pulling it back together and reeling it into proper place. Asia, feeling Issei's power flow through her, gasped as her Twilight Healing glowed with an intense green flash.

The first to mend was the bone, which creaked and protested until it fused. The rook began to sweat because he could feel a dull throb growing at the point of fusion. Muscles reconnected and tightened over under and around each other as nerves and nerve endings squirmed back into place. **"NNNNNNNG! F-FAAAAAAAAAAACK!"** Try though he might he could no longer hold it in; Kumonji had to bite his own lip and grimace as the dull ache burst into a burning stinging that persisted. He could feel his fingertips again, watched them wiggle as his exposed tendons and ligaments were pulled as his muscles flexed and relaxed. The only thing worse than having your arm cut off is reliving it in reverse he decided. Every thing from skin to blood vessels worked themselves into place as Asia cried out and focused all of her power there. Finally her light faded and they both fell back, Asia into Issei's arms and Kumonji into the arms of Xenovia. He was covered in a sheen of his sweat and pale as could be, but he looked up into her eyes and smiled weakly. **"That wasn't so bad,"** was the last words he could eek out before finding himself laying down staring up at the fight.

 **"Enough,"** Kokabiel had been toying with them all before but now he grew bored. He shattered all of the spells being sent his way and looked down with a grimace. The rook was on his back, the blonde on her feet, Issei glaring up at him and everyone prepared to fight to the death if they must. Koneko stood beside Kiba and interlaced her fingers with his, eyes up but prepared for the worst. Irina came out of her place of hiding and was now standing with Xenovia, clutching her crucifix.

 _'How do I tell her?'_ The bluenette thought to herself.

 **"Send forward anyone you wish. You there, Red Dragon Emperor prepare yourself."** Kokabiel waved with a smug grin. **"Make this interesting for me."**

Rias took Issei's hand, fingers entwined and nodded at him. Together they walked forward, Issei's boosted gear calling out every burst of power as they bravely marched into the mouth of the lion.

Kumonji, barely able to stand, staggered and stumbled after them.

 **"Kumonji, what are you doing?"** cried Akeno. Seeing him keep walking, she ran after him, then grasped the hem of his shirt. **"You'll die."**

 **"Then I'll die trying."** He took her by the undamaged part of her maiden's gown and pulled her into his lips. If he was gonna die then dammit he wouldn't waste this opportunity. His lips met hers, and she kissed him back. This wasn't a kiss goodbye, no this was finally understanding each other and letting the world fall away. After a long searing moment the kiss ended and they locked eyes.

 _ **Transfer!**_

Ddraig called out as Rias let her full power blossom along with this boost. Every second that passed her power rolled off in waves, each more powerful than the last.

 **"Finally, you've reached a power on par with that of your brother little girl! How exciting, how truly exquisite!"** This was no fallen angel, the look upon his face was that of sheer madness.

Rias summoned two circles and from them produced spheres of power so dense they resonated and crackled with energy, a force truly worthy of the Rias' name. **"In that case, BE GONE!"** What came from her could only be described as a black serpent of pure raw magic energy, screaming and tearing through the sky as it impacted Kokabiel's aura, redirecting as several smaller attacks that clashed with his own power in a grand fireworks display. Frustrated, Rias unleashed more and more, blotting out his very presence as a black dot in the sky.

Despite the sheer size and number of the attacks Kokabiel absorbed or tanked enough that Rias was sent crashing backwards with the recoil, right into Issei's waiting arms. **"Akeno, Now!"**

 **"Right! Come, Thunder!"** Akeno took to the sky and directed two massive lightning bolts at the fallen angel. As the thunder around her clapped and the energy surged she focused only on a single point as his wings closed in a protective coccoon.

 **"You would try to oppose me, daughter of Barkiel?"**

 **"How dare you speak his name to me."** Whether or not she intended it to happen, Kumonji noticed her attack became far more direct and fierce at the mention of Barkiel. **"I am nothing like that creature!"**

 **"What's a Barkiel?"** Issei murmured to himself.

 **"Another very powerful Fallen Angel, and one who possess the power of thunder and lightning as well. He just called her 'Barkiel's Daughter,' but obviously that's a more complex story."** Xenovia stated. Kumonji looked up to the sky, understanding for the first time that Akeno may have been through things many times worse than he had. Compared to that, how trivial his internal struggle must seem. His train of thought cut off when she ran out of power and gasped for breath.

 **"Oh say it isn't so, how far you've fallen sinking to Devil scum. What an amusing house you have Rias. The Red Dragon Emperor failure, a Holy Sword reject, an excommunicated nun, and Barkiel's daughter. A propensity for taking inferior materials and moulding them must run in the family."** The fallen angel dick spouted with a shake of his head in mock-pity.

 **"Your insulting comments to my brother will not be tolerated, and I will not allow you to stand there and disgrace my servants so. For this you will pay the ultimate price and die!"** Rias proclaimed.

 **"By all means try me. You do realize you're up against the archenemy of devils, right? Come on Crimson Ruin Princess"** Kokabiel descended to the ground and folded his many wings into his body. **"Take a shot at me, you may never get another chance."**

 **"Hey, Fallen Angel Douchenozzle! If you say one more negative thing I'll personally come over there and beat the living shit out of you."** Issei shouted. **"Don't test me you birdman freak!"**

 **"You must be completely stupid."**

 **"I am what I am asshole. Now bring it!"** _ **Boost!**_

Kiba and Xenovia nodded to each other, each taking a side and running at the fallen angel with swords held on high. **"We've got your back Issei!" "We can buy you some time."** The two swung with all their might, each taking the swords of light he summoned out of the equation. They had him defending from both sides, sparks flying from their blades grinding over each other.

 **"Interesting. What could be better than Holy Sword and Holy Devil Swords together at the same time?"**

From above, Koneko flipped head over heels like a cannon ball. Kumonji jumped as high as he could and caught her. **"Rook Catapult!"** With his hands on her backside the redhead spiked Koneko directly at Kokabiel, a silver missile flying at high speed and turning over at the last second to plant her foot at the back of his head. Once she hit, his whole body jerked a little, but the malicious grin never left.

His wings fanned out and he lashed in all directions, scattering the three from him and standing without a scratch as he retracted them all back into his body.

Outside the dome, the devils of Sona's house were tiring and running out of energy fast. Sona and Tsubaki were fine, looking around they noted that everyone else was sweating and short on breath from the long energy output. Tsubaki turned and noted that Teiya was doing surprisingly well, keeping her eyes down on the fight and barely struggling. _'She's still doing this well after so long?'_ Tsubaki turned back to Sona and nodded. It was all up to the devils inside to finish this quickly.

Inside everyone was exhausted as well. Koneko and Kiba were holding onto each other as Kiba covered his silver neko with his shirt, having lost hers in a flurry of sword and feather. Xenovia found Irina by her side as she got up, kneeling and catching her breath. Akeno, Asia and Rias had spent all of their magic and had almost no energy to spare. It was down to two.

 **"Hey, Issei. Looks like it's you and me. You up for a game of Follow me up?"** Kumonji grinned halfheartedly.

 **"At this point, I'm lucky to still be** _ **standing**_ **up."** _ **Boost!**_

 **"Meh, sack up. What chance do you have with chicks if you wear out after just a couple rounds?"** The rook cracked his knuckles yet again.

 **"HeheheahahahaHAHAHAHA! Women, is that all you want? King of a Harem is all that the Red Dragon Emperor desires? You should join me, you'd be Harem King in no time. Pretty women falling at your feet, an endless supply of women at your beck and call. All you have to do is betray your friends."**

 _'Ohshitohshitohshit..'_ He looked over to Issei, his best friend. Surely he wouldn't be tempted by such promises..

 **"I.. Won't fall for your sweet sweet words.."** Even as he said that everyone around could tell he was hesitating.

 **"Issei!"**

 **"Y-Yes Rias!"** He stiffened, knowing that tone of her voice.

 **"If it's women you want then.. when we get back.. I'll let you do whatever you want to me."** the magic words rang in his ears several times over.

 **"...oh fuck."** Kumonji stepped back and got out of the way.

 **"You mean not just groping but. I could.. suck on dem tiddies?"**

 **"If that's what it takes, it's a small price to pay."** Rias said, arms under her chest.

Issei's Dragon Gauntlet exploded with a brilliant green light. The Sacred Gear finally aligned with its master's wishes, and from that a new power was born: the power of Issei's balance breaker.

 **"This is the end for you Kokabiel, if it means I can motorboat the president's funbags there's no way I'm letting you win. I feel like I could take on God himself if he weren't already toast."** _ **Explosion!**_

Issei deployed his second level Sacred Gear, cocking back his fist and punching the sky in triumph.

 **"Oh dear. This is gonna suck for you Kokabiel. When it comes to Issei and boobs, you don't wanna stand between them."** Kumonji facepalmed, then looked up to see the light spear that had been hurled at him and covered his hands in armor, catching the end of it in his palm and struggling to keep it from impacting and exploding. Even through the dense metal encasing him he could feel the intense heat and power pushing back into him. **"crap.. this is too much!"**

 _ **Don't give up. You have the power within you to beat him!**_

With a grunt of effort Kumonji shattered the spear in his hand. **"You're right. It'll take more than a pain in the ass like him to kill me, as long as my friends are counting on me. Speaking of which, I think it's time we end this."** The two remaining devils walked with determination toward Kokabiel. They bumped fists and Kumonji took point. Mere feet from Kokabiel, he glared.

 **"What are you gonna do? Stare me to death?"**

 **"Not Quite."** The redhead's face glimmered, a silver mask covering his face as he drew his head back and headbutted Kokabiel as hard as he could. The fallen angel gasped and held his head, stumbling a few steps back. Kokabiel opened his eyes to find two hands clasped together hammering his head downward, and a metal knee catching his chest making it hard to breathe. **"Issei, care to do the honors?"**

 **"With pleasure."** His dragon fist drew back and he bashed Kokabiel under the chin, hard as any rook.

 **"Hey cockrocket, I wouldn't stand there if I were you. Phaes likes her personal space."** Kumonji merely crossed his arms as if he already won.

 **"What the fuck is a Phaes?"** Kokabiel looked down to see he was standing on an X drawn in the dirt. Beneath him a summoning circle for familiars was glowing and from the center of the X popped Phaes in her serpent form, curled around his body and baring her fangs. As quickly as she appeared she struck, biting his neck with full concentrated venom.

 **"Good girl Phaes."** She came back away from him, slithering around Kumonji's shoulders. Grasping at his neck Kokabiel swore and sputtered in agony. Behind him stood Issei ready to deck him one last time.

 **"It seems you lost. How very disappointing."** From above the dome came a voice nobody recognized. From the top down the dome shattered, revealing a silhouette in the moonlight with gems of blue all over it.

 **"What the hell is that?" "Why do I feel so uneasy?" "That form, it almost looks like."**

 _ **So, the White Dragon finally shows himself.**_ Ddraig spoke up from Issei's gauntlet.

 **"The white dragon? Are you freaking kidding me? Oh Shit dude.."**

In a haze of speed the white dragon swooped down and stood over Kokabiel's broken body, his wings and feathers strewn about leaving only 3 left on him. **"Disgusting. Your wings are absolutely foul; one who has fallen below the ground doesn't need such things."**

 **"You bastard.."** Kokabiel stood shakily, raising both hands at once, creating a spear of light that grew exponentially until it was several times the size of his own body and still getting larger.

 _ **Divide!**_ The white dragon raised his hand, shrinking the giant weapon until it destabilized and collapsed on itself.

 **"This is my power. His name is Albion, and once I've come into contact with any power I may divide it by half and sustain my own by absorbing it into myself. That is my Divine Dividing."**

 **"I get it. The Red Dragon doubles the power and gives it, while the white dragon halves it and takes it away."** Rias stated in awe. **"The legends are true."**

 **"Azazel asked me to bring you back, even if it took every bit of my power. A shame I got here too late, I really could have used the fun."** The white dragon dashed forward once again, wings flared and fists outstretched. The two streaked through the night sky, crashing back to earth with the lifeless sack of fallen angel trash hanging under the white dragon's arm. He turned to see Issei glaring and sweating. **"You there, Red one.. We shall meet again someday soon. We are destined to fight, it is inevitable. Until such time, grow stronger, seek more power. Make this fight one worthy of legends."** Turning to Kumonji, he added. **"And you, I appreciate the trouble you took to eliminate the stray priest but I had hoped to keep him alive. Such is life I suppose."** With that a brilliant white light filled the area and he disappeared, the bodies of Kokabiel and Freed in hand.

 **"Jeez, that fucking sucked."** Kumonji said, about to fall over from exhaustion. From behind he felt a pair of arms hugging him tightly and touched the hands clasped at his side. It was Teiya he found as he turned and saw that she was crying.

 **"Big stupid jerk, you could have been killed! What were you thinking?"** She held him with tears in his eyes. _'There she goes, making me feel all guilty again.'_ He could do nothing but pat her head and smile sheepishly.

 **"Ah Sona."** Rias proclaimed seeing that the Student Council team had arrived. **"Thank you so much for all your hard work."**

 **"I'd say you all handled the hard part."** Sona replied, pointing out the massive damage and multiple craters left over. **"I wonder, to what end did the White Dragon suddenly burst in like that?"**

 **"I wonder if he realizes he just saved this town."** Rias said with a flourish of her hand.

 **"I doubt it, but in any case we should get this school rebuilt as if nothing happened. We'll take care of the damage here."**

 **"Then we'll help as well."**

 **"No no, it's the job of the Student Council to take care of the school. Besides, after a battle like this you all have earned a rest."**

 **"It's over.. No, there were men who took over Valper's research. My fight isn't yet over."** Kiba grasped his Holy Devil Sword firmly. To his surprise, Koneko standing by him lightly slapped his arm.

 **"You've done enough. You got justice for the evil things he did and were able to avenge your comrades and put their souls to rest. Not to mention a badass new sword that combines light and dark powers into one. Just be happy for once. Please, I don't want you to leave."** She grasped tightly to him, holding his shirt over her shoulders and hugging his toned core as if it might be the last time. He sighed and acquiesced.

 **"Koneko's right."** Issei said, laying a hand on Kiba's shoulder. **"You honor them now by living on, fighting with their memories."**

 **"Kiba, for you to have found peace and to have activated your balance breaker you have no idea how proud I am as your master. What you've done is truly commendable. So next time before you go running off on your own, please try not to waste everyone else's feelings."** Rias said, standing before her knight. Everyone from the ORC was gathered around him with big smiles.

 **"President, I vow once more that I will as a knight of the House of Gremory protect you and your comrades with every blade and every breath."** Kiba raised his blade and stuck it into the ground, a pledge of his loyalty.

 **"I'm glad. Now, since I didn't get around to it yet, I'll need you to bend over."** Rias said with a smirk, magic circle glowing on her hand.

 **"Wait, What?!"** Kumonji trapped him by the shoulder as Kiba flinched. Try though he might to get away, he wouldn't escape.

Standing off by herself was Xenovia, watching them all interact while Irina rushed off to gather the Holy Swords scattered over the battlefield. Such a tenderness from devils, such discipline and above all, passion from every member. Xenovia was, dare she say, inspired by them all. Devils weren't so very different after all..

* * *

And Done! oh wow you guys have no idea how much effort it took to piece together this one trying to keep it all concise across several episodes with all the plot adjustments and the multiverse union thing.

Secondly i know i'm going to catch crap for changing excalibur nightmare to excalibur divine intervention but here's my reasoning: 1 if it's a HOLY sword why would it have a name like nightmare which is obviously very dark and negative? 2 there's no point in making illusions. If excalibur rapidly can cause someone to move as fast as a knight the illusions would be pointless as you wouldn't be able to see them or stop them anyway. if you can turn invisible and you make illusions the illusions would also be invisible anyway and if they aren't then you wouldn't need to be invisible in the first place. and 3rd and most importantly, Kumonji being a rook meant that even moving rapidly Freed could have taken a lucky stray hit and been wiped out in one go. I decided to give Freed a defense equal to that of Kumonji's rook defense so there would be no one-in-a-million hail mary hits. This was a design decision that made the fighters think and formulate a strategy on the fly against a superior opponent.

Yes he will keep the scar from the fight, but maybe get a tattoo over it. there will be a distinguishing mark in any case.

Lastly, yes Kumonji's sacred gear is powered by the soul of Seras Victoria from Hellsing (Ultimate, because that one is in my opinion FAR better than the other). I have a weakness for busty chicks with a badass side, what can i say? ..I really have spent too much time with Issei. Anyway that's all for now. later taters! Peace and hair grease! *passes out*


	21. Open House, I'm gonna die!

_**Time for more funtimes!**_

 _ **To be perfectly honest this chapter was the first one i had ever written before this fanfiction was even a thing. I watched these episodes over and over because it was fun watching Issei squirm (and okay, yes i also watched it for the girls but shush! .) and i was thinking "That.. I wanna redo that. with music."**_

 _ **I do not own High School DxD. and for that I am sorry *sadface***_

* * *

The day following their massive fight, the entirety of the ORC had declared a couple days off from school would do them good, most sleeping well into the morning from exhaustion following a quick looking-over by Asia for any wounds that would need to be healed. Thankfully barring Kumonji's rather unfortunate incident (the resulting scar from which, he decided, would be covered by a tattoo) the wounds incurred were quite minor. Kiba was given special care for Light poisoning from needing to use two holy devil swords at once and it coming back to bite him in a comically literal way as well as slight bruising to his ribs when Koneko bearhugged him so hard he swore he could taste what he ate that morning.

 _Even still, looks like a devil's work is never done. Guess this gives the phrase "No rest for the wicked" a whole new meaning._ Checking his phone Kumonji saw his phone lighting up with Azazel's summon. _'Better him than Milton, I suppose.'_ With a sigh of slight remorse that his last day off was slightly marred by a summons, he set off to the the old man's home.

 **"Oh hey devil boy, you're just in time. Why don't you come in and have a drink?"** Azazel offered, gesturing behind him to the usual assortment of high end liquor sitting on the coffee table. As Kumonji walked into the sitting room he noticed that one of Azazel's paintings was missing from the wall, made obvious by the massive patch on the wall faded into the outline of the frame.

 **"You're missing a portrait. Hey wait, was that the one Issei was carrying? How could you? You handed over an original Manet to a walking nutsack on a bicycle."** He hung his head in defeat.

 **"Quite the eye for remarkable pieces."** Azazel commented, closing the door and striding over to take a seat by his side. **"Speaking of which, I must congratulate you on a battle well fought. Or at least I'd like to say that, if you weren't quite so reckless and unpolished. Even got yourself a little war badge. Scars are great for getting chicks kid, but get too many and you're bound to lose more than a woman's attention. Ya get me?"**

 **"Thanks for the advice. Now, if you don't mind me asking why did you call me here?"**

 **"To warn you. You've got potential but there's no way in hell you'd be able to take a fight like that again and walk away, not in the condition you're in right now and especially if you rely on luck more than skill. More importantly than that I want to thank you for keeping Albion on mission and to do that I want to warn you and your master that the Fallen Angels, Angels, and Devils will be holding a summit here in town in the not too distant future. Please prepare accordingly. That's all I wanted to say, but you're still welcome to have that drink."**

 **"Thanks, but I already told you I'm underage. If possible I would like to not make this a habit until I'm old enough to know better."** With that Kumonji stood and bowed to Azazel, heading over to the door. **"By the way, I hear you're a fan of collecting things of interest. If you should happen to have an interest in Sacred Gears, for example the Red Dragon or... Whatever this is,"** he stated holding up his Sen, **"I would advise you tread carefully about collecting them. Just a word of caution to a potential client."**

Walking home in silence through the night Asia, Rias and Issei waved over to Kumonji as he walked in his own front door.

 **"Tadaim-AH! Teiya, Mom, will you not hug me so tight please? I'm fine, honest."** He looked them both in the eyes apologetically. **"I'm sorry to have worried you, but you shouldn't count me out so quickly."**

 **"I'm your mother, it's my job to worry."** Erisu said with a pat to his shoulders.

 **"In that case mum, I'm gettin' a tattoo!"** Kumonji stated, showing off his perfectly circular scar, the skin where he was forcibly healed lighter and slightly tougher than the skin around it.

 **"Damn right you are young man, I don't like seeing my baby boy having scars and battle wounds."** Erisu decreed sternly much to the surprise of everyone. Kumonji's well thought out argument died on his lips. _'That was almost too easy.'_

 **"Aw sweet, then I'm getting a tattoo also!"** Teiya announced.

 **"THE HELL YOU ARE!"** Erisu screamed. Families, what are you gonna do?

The following day, a Saturday, the Occult Research Club filed in around the school swimming pool, which had along with half of the other buildings been remade flawlessly overnight by Sona and her peerage. Looking down at the tiles was a depressing sight as despite being rebuilt exactly as it was when it had been broken into little more than a crater of dust and shattered ceramic and pipe the Student Council had remade it with the grime that was stuck to the bottom for the last year still attached.

 **"So wait, we're here to clean the pool? What gives?"** Issei balked.

 **"As a thank you for putting our school back together the Occult Research Club has agreed to do this for the Student Council. Normally this would be their job but they did so much I felt it would be necessary to pay them back somehow."** Everyone's shoulders sagged just a little, but Rias had a point. **"Of course, Sona being Sona once we're done we've been given free reign to use it as long as we like just as long as we keep it tidy after."** She declared. At the thought of all of them swimming and laying out catching a tan the color returned to Issei's cheeks, mind racing with raunchy ideas. It took Kumonji every ounce of restraint not to hit the perv, _'but a deal is a deal.'_

 **"Hell yeah, raise your hand if you're excited to get this place sparkling clean!"** shouted the pawn with both arms raised high.

 **"Raise two hands if you're a pervert."** Koneko shot back. To Issei's dismay everyone around him laughed. _'Honestly, he's so transparent.'_

 **"I hope I'm not late for anything?"** No way, that voice. Sure enough, Xenovia stood at the entrance to the pool, walking in and running up to the group in a scarlet skirt and white top, the school uniform.

 **"Wait, Xenovia what are you doing here?"** Issei asked, tilting his head.

 **"Ah, right on time Xenovia. Did you find your way well enough?"** Rias asked, ignoring the pawn.

 **"Admittedly I was lost but I found the school without too much trouble. The hotel you've helped set me up with is rather nice, thank you."** Xenovia said with a bow.

 **"My pleasure. Well now looks like we're all here."** Rias grinned.

The bluenette bowed to them all. **"I look forward to working with you all. Please take care of me."** As she raised her head, she gave the red haired male a quick glance then turned her eyes back toward Rias.

Kiba picked up on it first. **"So you're really one of us now?"**

 **"** _ **There's**_ **a twist."** Kumonji, who was closest to her, smiled and lightly tapped her shoulder. **"Still, you being a holy sword user and a former member of the church turned devil in and of itself isn't quite new to us. Glad to have you on our side."**

 **"She's a devil?"** Issei sputtered, only to be stunned as her wings clipped Kumonji and nearly knocked him into the greasy scummy pit below.

 **"Oops, I'm sorry Tokumatsu-san. I've not gotten used to them yet."** She retraced them quickly and bowed.

 **"It's no big. And by the way what's with the formality? Call me Kumonji, we're allies and friends now."** Behind him Kumonji could feel the eyes of Akeno-senpai burning a hole in the back of his head and quickly fell back into line.

 **"Very well. I also wished to return these to you."** She reached into her pocket and withdrew the pair of underpants she had borrowed when she stayed over, holding them up for everyone to see. **"Thank you for allowing me to wear them, they were quite comfortable."** The redhead was embarrassed beyond all belief, grasping them and stuffing them into his pocket as quickly as he could, cheeks deepening from pink to red very quickly.

 **"YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO HOLD THEM UP ON DISPLAY!"** The hairs on the back of his neck tingled and he could swear he heard a crackling from over where Akeno stood. **"*ahem* At any rate, you're welcome. I hope my mother and sister weren't too rough on you and Irina. Hey speaking of, where did she go?"**

Xenovia cast her gaze downward, still stinging from the last words Irina had spoken to her. She hadn't told Irina the truth about God's death having decided that it would be selfish of her to take the faith of someone who believed in her heart that His will lived on. Irina had lashed out, speaking down to her and calling her names like "traitor" and worse, but she had stayed silent for her friend's sake. _'Forgive me, Irina, but there is still much to do. I can't claim to know why becoming a devil was a good idea, but I feel as though I have found my place.'_

 **"Uh.. Xenovia?"** Issei ventured carefully, seeing that something was bugging her.

 **"Oh, my apologies."** The bluenette shook her head and addressed Rias. **"What are my orders?"**

 **"Orders?"** Rias giggled slightly. **"So serious. Relax a little. As I was just explaining today we'll be cleaning the pool area and afterward we're free to lounge or swim or just enjoy ourselves. A little recovery time will do us all good. Now, let's get changed and get this place spotless!"**  
 _ **"Right!"**_

 **"Aww yeah, pool party! G-strings and titty slings!"** Issei proclaimed in the boy's changing room. He opened his phone to examine for the fifth time the photo Rias had sent when she was trying on swimsuits. The white one fit her very well, hugging her features and amplifying her already sizeable bust. Beside him Kiba and Kumonji rolled their eyes.

 **"Hey.. You guys. I never really got to thank you. If it weren't for you two I'm not sure I'd have even survived against the Holy Sword abomination, but thanks to all of you, my new friends, I got my closure. I think I'll be okay, and.. I want to start dating Koneko."**

 **"That's great Kiba!" "Seriously, way to go."**

 **"I'll never be able to repay Rias for being so lenient on me, or for taking me back so readily."** Kiba smiled at himself in the mirror hanging in the back of the locker.

 **"Yeah but 1000 ass whoopings from Prez isn't something to scoff about. I mean even Kumonji couldn't walk right after that kind of punishment. How's your ass doing by the way?"** Issei asked of his friend.

 **"..not the kind of thing you should be asking another half-naked dude in a locker room Issei. Besides Kiba** **we all knew you weren't going to leave us forever, you just had some stuff to work out of your system."** Kumonji smiled and tossed his shirt lazily into the locker before him. **"Just don't expect any help winning Koneko over again. That chick scares me almost as much as Akeno."**

~-~  
 _Meanwhile, over in the girls' locker room:_

 **"Do you think maybe I'm too hard on him Rias?"** Akeno asked as she got into her gym clothes. She looked expectantly at Rias who was mostly dressed and tossed her hair back over her shoulders to do her signature ponytail.

 **"I think you have a hard time trusting men and that you're a bit guarded. You know what you expect from him and what you want him to be, if that's what you're asking."** Rias could tell what she was thinking, but this wasn't her battle. **"You two have to work this out yourselves. But I wouldn't worry, I know how you are."**

To her side, Koneko was fully dressed and put her berets on top of her clothes so they didn't get dirty. She turned her head from one conversation to the next.

 **"Asia, did you have trouble dealing with your new life as a devil?"** Xenovia looked rather uncomfortable asking, but she had to know. **"Being a devil and still keeping the faith, it must have been so hard with people condemning you and calling you such names as I did. I.. I'm sorry. You may strike me if it makes you feel better."**

 **"N-No please, it's fine really! I was totally nervous at first but then I realized that my love for God has never been greater. Even though I'm a devil I still feel His love and benevolence. If Michael is in charge now I can't really say that I feel the difference because Heaven's light still shines upon me, I just know it does for you too."** She took Xenovia's hands and looked up at her with that sweet gaze that just melted hearts. The two nodded at each other and crossed themselves. _**"Amen-YOUCH!"**_ they both cried as the pain of prayer surged inside them. Some habits die hard. (A/N: ha.. Habits. Nun joke.)

Shortly thereafter the entire ORC had scrubbing brooms and hoses in hand. Kiba, despite being a knight, slipped constantly and found himself fumbling to keep his footing every few dozen feet. This scum wasn't coming off easily and it was sure as hell not going to go away without putting up a fight.

 **"W-wha-whooooaa! I don't get it, how are you keeping your feet so easily?"** The knight looked over at Koneko and Kumonji walking along and scrubbing with two brushes each without effort.

 **"Fast feet on a slimy floor doesn't work as well as lead feet. Adamantium in my case."** Kumonji pointed down at his feet to show that his trainers had been left behind in place of the metal of Sen. Inside his mindscape though Seras grimaced as she felt the slippery muck almost as if it were stuck to her own feet. Just to show him, she retracted the metal coating and sent him into a fit of stumbles. **"Seras, what the hell?"**

 _ **Oopsie, sorry 'bout that. ;P  
**_

 _'Somehow I don't believe you.'_

Beside him, Koneko was using her bodyweight and momentum forward to create downward force, a four point approach. **"Lean into it, don't resist."** She managed to get another small pile clear from the bottom in no time.

Somehow despite being surrounded by girls in gym clothes Issei managed to keep it in his pants; he even did a great job working beside Asia and Rias, who kept bumping into him "Accidentally." The only weirder thing than how clingy Rias was to him was how Xenovia and Akeno had both gravitated toward Kumonji, pushing each other without the foolish young man catching on.

Rias wiped her brow with a satisfied look, appraising for any missed spots only to find none. **"Well done everyone. We got it done in record time. Akeno, if you would please?"** Both ladies raised their hands and cast a very large spell over the pool. As the circle activated a torrent of water spilled forth, as though the heavens themselves had opened and filled it to the very brim.

 **"Whoa!"** everyone cried out in unison. Seeing a feat such as this was almost normal, but on a scale that big it was still difficult to get used to.

 **"Okay, let's all get changed and have some fun! Swim to your hearts' content"** Rias gave them all a wave and flew across the pool to get changed, everyone else following suit with excitement and anticipation. Hey, it's not the beach, but it's a fun day at the water's edge.

~~

Rias was first out, sporting her new white swimsuit with gold hoops holding it together, if only barely. Her chest was so tightly concealed it looked as though she would pop out of her top at any moment, and the straps on either side of her waist strained to keep her decent. The moment Issei flew out of the changing room door his nosebleed shot him backward almost through the door again.

 **"Oh Issei, what do you think of my new swimsuit?"** Rias teased with a flaunt of her hair. She looked like a vision of heaven, there was no denying it.

 **"ILOVEITIT'STHEMOSTEPICTHINGEVER!"** Issei shouted, fangirling so hard it was almost unbearable.

Kumonji followed Issei out in a very tight pair of swimming shorts that looked identical to the underwear Xenovia had returned: Teal all over with two black stripes up either side and a band of silver on the top. He felt a little embarrassed wearing such revealing clothes, but loose shorts felt like they could fall off at any moment.

Asia came out in her one-piece swimsuit which she wore very well. Standing beside her was Koneko wearing a similar outfit with a swimcap on her head. She looked over and Kumonji noticed the blush in her cheeks. At first he moved to cover up until he looked over his shoulder and saw that she was stealing glances at Kiba, and Kiba at her. The two took each others' hands and got into the water at the same time, Kiba whispering something to her that was difficult to hear.

At that particular moment Kumonji heard the door to the ladies' changing room close one last time and felt something very soft and warm in his back.

 _'Those.. that's...'_

 **"Ufufufu~ I hope you don't mind my outfit. How does it look, Kouhai?"** Akeno's steamy breath filled Kumonji's ear and her sensual words mixed with the feeling of thin fabric separating her chest from his skin had him about ready to faint. Kumonji turned slowly, and what he saw gave him fits. Akeno stood there, hair still done up in her long ponytail but in place of her uniform or her priestess costume she was showing plenty of skin in her tight red and blue Bikini, strapless on top with only a single ring holding it together and hiding very little on bottom.

 **"If this is a dream please don't ever wake me."** were the last words Kumonji was able to eek out before suffering a sexy TKO and falling into the pool. Akeno giggled and hopped in after him, pulling him up to the surface with a goofy grin on his face.

And so the day passed, after recovering Kumonji joined in the fun with everyone as diving contests were held, friendly races had, and breaks were taken to sunbathe and work on tans and tan lines. Somewhere along the lines a ball was brought over from the supplies shed and they all passed it around playing volleyball, which later turned to a mock-water-polo. The redhead even helped Asia learn to swim alongside Kiba who was teaching Koneko. Issei took over when Akeno asked to borrow him for a bit and Rias gave a satisfied smile as the two swam over to the deeper end where they could chat in private.

 **"Hey, uh.. about.. you know.. everything."** Kumonji was completely unprepared, but it had to be honest and from the heart. **"I know I've kept secrets and withheld some information from you. But.. I'm ready now more than ever if you're still willing to give me a shot."**

 **"I think I am. But I won't take any more secrets or lies, if you give me any reason to distrust you.."**

 **"I know. And I won't."** He took her hand. **"This.. is going to be hard to hear but.. The fact of the matter is that I never existed."** Seeing the confusion on her face turn to hurt he quickly moved to explain. **"What I mean is that there are worlds beyond this one, like the underworld and heaven, and even beyond that which push the limits of reality and possibility. There existed a world where this.. everything around us right now was just ink on paper. I was born into that world, a boring tedious painful world that was stripped of any magic or wonder or angels or devils. And I died in that world. For whatever reason, call it fate or destiny or just pure blind luck but when I did die I had just one wish and that was to do it over, to get a second chance at life. I was born again, here in this world in this reality a total stranger and completely unaware of my past life. Something happened one day, something that set off a chain reaction that made me question everything. That was the second day that I died. The day Freed killed me, and the day I met you."** He held her hand tightly. **"For a while now I've been trying to face the truth that there existed an alternate timeline where you existed happily without me. When I told Rias of where I came from even she had a hard time swallowing it. I was afraid that as a paradox, a living entity that brought two planes of existence together and more importantly as a gaijin that just being near you would put you in mortal danger. I've loved you ever since the first day I saw you and if you don't love me back after everything I've told you I'll understand. Just.. I want you to.."**

 **"Stop."** Her word was sharp and cold. This was it, the moment he dreaded most. She didn't believe him, and this would be goodbye. He closed his eyes, turning his head. He wouldn't let her see him cry. Instead, he felt her arms around his neck and her body pressed against him. She hugged him tightly, just wanting him close. He didn't hesitate, not for even a second. His arms found their way around her and he held on like it would be the last time. **"Everyone has their past. But you don't have to be alone anymore."** She tightened her grip on him a little, and rested his chin on her shoulder, trying not to just burst into tears. She believed him, or at the very least understood he was working through a difficult time.

A short while later the two held hands and made their way back to the group, minus Xenovia who was still absent for some reason. Surely a bikini wasn't that hard to put on even for a former member of the church?

Some time later still everyone was sunbathing as it neared lunchtime, the sun in the sky burning hotter now.

 **"Issei, would you mind rubbing lotion on my back?"** Rias called, undoing the strap to her top. Issei, never one to miss an opportunity leapt to his feet and practically teleported to her side, taking from her hands the bottle of sunblock and dabbing some into his palms. His fingers worked her over making sure to cover every inch of her from shoulders to calves up and down her back and legs. Kumonji also proudly noted that he skipped over her buttocks like a gentleman instead of being a perv and going for it. _'looks like he might be learning after all.'_

 **"That feels great. Would you like to rub some on my chest too?"** Her words echoed in the pervert's ears, his heart thumping wildly and thoughts of fantasy were suddenly coming to life. _' "Rub lotion on my chest" are officially the greatest words I've heard in my life!'_ Issei proclaimed in his mind.

 **"Is that a no?"** Rias prodded with a sarcastic grin.

 **"No please I want to. It's cool?"**

 **"Of course, I know how you are about touching breasts."**

 **"They're only my favorite things ever!"** This was torture; Issei was more perverse now than ever and Kumonji had made a deal that he would never hit him for it again.

 **"Then make sure you do a good job on mine"** Rias stated, turning over and letting her large breasts hang free of any garment. Asia pouted, Issei went into a state of disbelief, Kumonji hid his face under his arms at seeing Rias topless for the first time. Akeno just chuckled lightly and patted his shoulder.

 **"If it makes you feel any better, why don't we borrow that for ourselves, and you can put some on me?" '** _Akeno didn't just say that. There's no way she just said that.'_ Before his mind could even register, she had slipped off her top as well, ran around the pool and stole the bottle from Issei's hands.

 **"Akeno, that was uncalled for. Issei wasn't done with me yet."** Rias half-shouted, standing with her chest exposed for everyone to see.

 **"Ufufu too bad. It's not fair if you're the only one getting a back rub. How about it Kumonji? Won't you help your senpai?"** She licked her lips for emphasis, clearly loving the spark of rivalry.

 **"Y-YES SENPAI!"** there was no warning, Rias cast her black flame at them both shattering a stone column behind them.

 **"I don't know what's gotten into you but you're out of control."** Walking through the smoke made the silhouette of Rias that much more imposing. It seemed impossible that any woman could be so sexy undressed and at the same time lethally dangerous and yet there she was. The two women grasped and tugged at the bottle of sunblock, both fighting for the win.

 **"W-wait! Both of you!"** Kumonji shouted, stepping in only to get nudged back hard. Rias pulled back and downward, Akeno across and upward. **"Th-The Bottle's cap is..!"** He couldn't get out the word "broken" before the two topless beauties squeezed, causing a fountain of the clear-white sunscreen to splatter over the both of them. Issei fainted immediately, Kumonji saved the image of that moment to the gentleman folder in his brain and stuffed his thumb and forefinger up his nose to stem the bleeding, all while running over to the dressing room where he knew he kept a spare bottle to end this mess.

On his way out, bottle in hand, he nearly ran over Xenovia, dressed in a stylish green and gold swimsuit.

 **"Oh, Kumonji, there you are."**

 **"Hi Xenobia."** Feeling safe that he had curtailed his inner pervert he removed his fingers and washed them off in the fountain beside her. With his head turned to keep talking he made sure to get the blood out from under his fingernails. **"Where have you been? Kinda thought we'd lost you."**

 **"I.. was having trouble with my swimsuit. It is the first one I've ever owned."**

 **"Yyyyyeeeeaaaah I'm calling bullcrap. It's just two pieces of fabric, how hard can it be?"**

 **"You're right. Actually, I had changed quite some time ago. The truth is, after I got dressed I was thinking. I have a very serious matter I must discuss with you."**

 **"This should be interesting.."**

 **"I would like you to make a baby with me."** Without further warning she pinned him to the wall, body against body leaving him no way to get away. Her hand moved and for a moment he was concerned where it was going, getting awfully close to his shorts. The door behind him opened as she twisted the knob, leaving the two hapless teens caught in a semi-awkward horizontal embrace. Struggle though he could Kumonji felt his natural reaction kick in right away, the fabric of his shorts growing that much tighter as his senses went into a heightened state. He could see the tinge of red in Xenovia's cheeks, the slight puffiness of her lip as she bit it carefully and the swell of her breasts as she raspily breathed in the warm air that played over her sending the tiniest beads of sweat rolling from her neck toward her cleavage. For a moment he could smell the faintest whiff of lilacs and honeysuckle, no doubt her shampoo but the more she leaned in to kiss him the more pervasive it became. Lastly and most powerful at the moment was his sense of touch, the way her whole body felt laying over him, the firm muscles in her calves and thighs hidden under the gentle touch of her skin. Her hands were callused from her endless training, her chest so soft, and damn his own body the shifting of her hips as they both felt his erection straining against her. He was madly aware of it all.

 _'She's.. this is so hot.. and so wrong.'_

 **"I've already given this much thought. I've seen the way you fight and I can sense the latent power within you. I want my child to have such power, the tenacity in battle to fight without tiring and the passion to always find a way to win."** Even as she spoke her voice seemed to crack, barely containing her own desire and the feelings of lust being awakened. **"I admit that I hated you when first we met, but somehow I feel that I had just lied to myself to hide the truth. You are kind, daring and loyal, even caring for those who would offer you insult or threaten you. Please, Kumonji.. hurry and give me your baby."** She sat up still astride him, working to undo her top with a straight face. She bared her breasts quickly but her eyes averted only for a moment. She was uncertain he could tell, for her bold words she was still so pure. _'She's so stoic, just like Koneko. Wait, I can't be thinking this now, what if Akeno sees this?'_

 **"I'm not very experienced, so I'll need you to take the lead. You can do anything, as long as I have your seed inside of me."** She hesitated for a moment, then took the sides of her swimsuit in her thumbs, all the loops digging into her hips even more as she was dangerously close to being fully indecent.

 **"W-wait! Xenovia stop!"** Hearing his voice grow desperate she paused, long enough for him to sit up on his elbows. **"Look, I like you and I think you've very attractive but this is so wrong. You can't just jump into bed with me all of a sudden and expect me to be okay with it. You barely know who I am and even though this is what you think you want this is a big commitment for both of us. If you really want this to happen you should do it right."**

 **"And what is she doing right?"** There in the doorway watching over the both of them stood Akeno. Her eyes wandered over the scene before her. He was pitching a rather large tent, she was topless and straddling his waist, all in all it was very damning. **"Oh my, it seems I've interrupted something."**

 **"Would either of you care to explain yourselves?"** Rias appeared behind Akeno, hands on hips and her top securely fastened. By her side a very glum looking Issei slumped his shoulders.

 **"I merely asked Kumonji to make a baby with me."** Xenovia stated.

 **"And I refused to do so! I want it on record that I suggested an alternate course of action!"** The rook half-shouted, hoping Akeno would actually buy his story.

 **"I see. I suppose there's no other way to say it but a new challenger has made her presence known Akeno. Very well, there's only one logical solution: Kumonji you must date both Xenovia and Akeno until you decide who you feel is destined to be your soulmate."** Rias must be joking right? How could she not feel the sparks flying between her best friend and newest recruit when they were both standing right there, unless of course..

 _'Right, she needs the distraction so it's easier to screw with other people rather than deal with your own problems. Thanks a lot Rias-senpai.'_

~!~

Kumonji had been kindly asked (or rather, fought over) by a couple of his classes to help set up ideas for class themes for the festival. In the end he decided his music class would probably be the easiest to deal with, suggesting concerts in the quad by the students. The class all agreed happily, though one loudmouth by the name of Tokumatsu Teiya adamantly lobbied that she and Kumonji would play lead guitar and vocals in the second and third concerts respectively.

 _'Well thanks a lot sis.. I was hoping not to have to play in front of everyone.'_ he thought to himself. In truth, it wasn't that he couldn't play guitar because frankly he was decent enough to play a lot of different genres. No, the reason he never joined a band was because of his stage fright. He barely made it through the gig he played those months ago and that was only because the band was just too big and famous to say no to. Even still, he had to admit he had the worst case of jelly legs and butterflies in the stomach from start to finish. The same reason he never really liked making a spectacle of himself save for fighting the occasional priest or fallen angel. The teacher however wouldn't hear of it, and neither would most of the girls eager to hear some kind of love ballad or instrumental. _'I wonder how Kiba deals with all of this? At least he's more popular than I am. A fact I think I don't ever want to remedy.'_

Throughout the rest of class everyone broke off into small groups to rehearse, with Kumonji helping and giving tips for every guitarist as they would all discuss the general setlist and maybe keep a couple songs reserved for encores. After class the redhead went to the club room to find nobody there except Rias who was doing the usual paperwork.

 **"Oh sorry Prez, I was just popping by to see if there were any summons today.. You need a hand with those?"**

 **"Very kind of you,"** Rias replied with a gentle smile **"but I have Issei running around for me, he should be back any minute. As for the summons we've reached our quota for the week so I thought we could all take some time off. After all, we do still need to have fun now and then right?"**

 **"Of course."** Looking around Kumonji thought to himself about his first time in this room and how long ago it seemed, now he's living his life as a devil and a student in nearly perfect harmony. **"*sigh* You know, I almost envy you. Being a high class devil heiress, you have your life basically set for you. Me, I can still barely process how the rest of my time is gonna go. For that matter I'm still so indecisive I can't figure out what I'm doing for tomorrow."**

Rias paused for a second, then chuckled. **"Well if you put it bluntly like that I suppose anyone would be envious, though you really should look at all the small things along the way before making a grand plan. After all in life as in chess every move is permanent and has consequences that define us."** She stands and comes around to address him more properly. **"That being said the only way to know which move is right is to try them all and see what works."**

Kumonji wass utterly stumped by her meaning, until he heard the door opening behind him. Issei strolled in with his arms half full of papers for the club room, and behind him was Akeno making that sadistically sweet grin that told Kumonji and Rias just what was on Issei's mind the entire walk around campus. _'Poor perv will never learn.'_ everyone thought in unison. At seeing Akeno walk through the door Kumonji couldn't help but smile and suddenly everything clicked. He turned to Rias and bowed politely **"Thanks Rias! I should go, I need to practice after all.."** He turned and jogged out, feeling more confident and full of energy now that he knew what to do. Things were starting to make sense, and it would all fall into place tomorrow.

The next morning had parents and siblings following begrudging students throughout the schoolday. Thankfully Miss Tokumatsu Erisu had deigned to follow Teiya much to her chagrin and Kumonji's joy. _'That's what you get for trying to outfox me Teiya,'_ he celebrated internally while watching the two women of the house striding off to class 1C, little sister feeling slightly gloomy. As was normal the redhead didn't make any spectacle of himself unless asked by his instructors. It is worthy to note that he had stifled several snickering fits as Issei and Rias' parents filmed them at their not-so-great moments, such as Issei's flawless rendering of Rias in the buff shaped seamlessly in clay with his eyes closed.

 **"Oh come on Issei I think it's flattering that you know her body so well."** he teased the Red Dragon pervert-king. **"In fact, if I didn't know any better I'd say that Harem King has a crush on our President Ri- oof!"** The rook was taken off guard by a less than subtle nudge from the queen to his left. Looking up from her look of slight concern and amusement, Kumonji noticed the two of them had looks of guilt and a light dusting of pink on their cheeks, along with Asia clinging to Issei's arm. **"Er... anyway my concert is up in 20 minutes so if you see Xenovia, Koneko and Kiba let them know okay? I really don't think I can do this but I'm already volunteered.. oh well."** With a wave he took off, walking to the changing room to meet his band and grab his lucky black headband that he saved for occasions like this. To make things better he asked Seras to loop a few rings around both ears and one more through his eyebrow, to which she happily agreed. The faux piercings looked excellent, almost believable and if asked he would write them off as cheap stage jewelry.

When he arrived, looking like a new age rockstar if he did say so himself, he was stunned to find his band waiting for him with the backup guitarist missing.. and Teiya in her place. **"Um Teiya why are you here exactly? Where's Nagato?"**

 **"She kinda.. got food poisoning from the stall of first years who tried making Soba by hand. So the teacher asked me to come in her place, since I know you and all.. Try not to be too grateful,"** she added, with a smack on the side of his arm for emphasis. Without realizing it she had hit the part of his arm that was still scarred, but with a shirt on under his school uniform that came down to his elbow nobody else was the wiser. He felt that ring tingle for a second but nodded to her and gave a heartfelt thumbs up. After tuning up, synching up, and going over a quick revision of the setlist they all smiled, ready. All, save for the lead guitar and vocalist.

 _'I can't do this I'm not ready I can't There's no way I..'_

Someone tugged on his sleeve. The rest of the band was getting on stage waiting for the curtain to rise, so who could be-?

 **"I.. I just want you to know that I.. I know you have feelings for me and maybe.. I kinda like you the same way.."**

 _'Akeno?!'_

 **"So.. no matter what just go up there and have fun okay? I'll be cheering for you."** With that she gave a fist pump that brought a smile to his face.

For a brief and shining moment he thought of kissing her right then and there, letting her know exactly how he felt. Just like when he decided to face Kokabiel, except this wasn't life or death, he wanted this. It wasn't until the haze cleared that he realized he had actually leaned in and kissed her. As their lips parted and his eyes widened he saw the shock written across her face, and immediately felt ashamed for being so forward. **"I- I'm sorry. I don't know what I was-"** the rest of his sentence and most of his cranial activity was shut out when her lips contacted his.

She loved him, and he loved her. Now, they were unafraid of admitting it to themselves and each other. This was.. dare he say it, Heaven? In that fleeting moment when everything between them finally tumbled down and they truly expressed themselves they could swear they read each other's minds. And as quick as it came, the moment was gone. He stood there as she went around to find the rest of the ORC and he merely touched his finger to his lips, hoping to never forget the moment.

 **"Making out with your girlfriend, Bro?"** Teiya asked. Somehow, she seemed less annoying now than usual. Seeing the blush in her brother's face she just winked and nudged him. **"'Bout damn time you two.. I was afraid I was gonna have to intervene."** Kumonji just chuckled and assured her that no, everything seemed to be on the upswing now. The curtain rose and Kumonji took guitar as Teiya was going to have the first song.

 _ **"Kono omoi wo keshite shimau niwa mada jinsei nagai desho? Yarinokoshi te'ru koto yarinaoshite mitai kara.."**_ The song went beautifully, and thankfully making the decision that he was starting second helped ease the fluster in Kumonji's head, both from the nerves and his confession only moments ago. As the song drew to a close he could only steel himself for his coming turn. _**"...Natsukashiku naru konna itami mo kangei jan!"**_ The crowd started cheering, Teiya stepped aside and pulled her guitar around for the next song.

The crowd grew hushed before the drummer counted off. The rook stood in front of the sea of faces, nearly trembling. All eyes on him. He's on the verge of freezing up, until he sees them. The ORC are holding up a sign with his name, and right in the middle is Akeno.

Then Kumonji holds his pick up high, strikes the opening chords and just lets it all go. Even he looks amazed as his fingers dance of their own free will, ease of familiarity flowing through him to the amplifiers, never once taking his eyes off of the woman he now knows he wants to spend his life with.

 _ **"We all have a weakness**_  
 _ **But some of ours are easy to identify**_  
 _ **Look me in the eye**_

 _ **And ask for forgiveness;**_  
 _ **We'll make a pact to never speak that word again**_  
 _ **Yes you are my friend**_

 _ **We all have something that digs at us,**_  
 _ **At least we dig each other**_  
 _ **So when weakness turns my ego up**_  
 _ **I know you'll count on the me from yesterday**_

 _ **If I turn into another**_  
 _ **Dig me up from under what is covering**_  
 _ **the better part of me**_  
 _ **Sing this song**_  
 _ **Remind me that we'll always have each other**_  
 _ **When everything else is gone**_

 _ **We all have a sickness**_  
 _ **That cleverly attaches and multiplies**_  
 _ **No matter how we try**_

 _ **We all have someone that digs at us**_  
 _ **At least we dig each other**_  
 _ **So when sickness turns my ego up**_  
 _ **I know you'll act as clever medicine.**_

 _ **If I turn into another**_  
 _ **Dig me up from under what is covering**_  
 _ **the better part of me**_  
 _ **Sing this song**_  
 _ **Remind me that we'll always have each other**_  
 _ **When everything else is gone**_

 _ **Oooh each other**_  
 _ **When everything else is gone."**_

The crowd cheered as the last note faded and Kumonji gave everyone in the ORC a big grin, _'I think I've got this.'_

 **"Not bad big bro, now how about something that shreds?"** Teiya poked at him into the mic. She knew what was coming next and signaled for the band to pick up on the second bar. It was a favorite of her brother's, and Kumonji's eyes lit up as she played the rhythm section. Coming in on the second bit with the rest of the band; the lead guitar kicked the distortion way up and they were at it.

 _ **"The secret Side of me I never let you see**_  
 _ **I keep it caged but I can't control it**_  
 _ **So stay away from me the beast is ugly**_  
 _ **I feel the rage and I just can't hold it**_

 _ **It's scratching on the walls, In the closet, in the halls**_  
 _ **It comes awake and I can't control it**_  
 _ **Hiding under the bed, In my body, in my head**_  
 _ **Why won't somebody come and save me from this? make it end!**_

 _ **I feel it deep within, It's just beneath the skin**_  
 _ **I must confess that I feel like a Monster**_  
 _ **I hate what I've become, the nightmare's just begun**_  
 _ **I must confess that I feel like a Monster**_

 _ **I- I- feel like a Monster**_  
 _ **I- I- feel like a Monster**_

 _ **The secret side I keep Hid under lock and key**_  
 _ **I keep it caged but I can't control it**_  
 _ **Cause if I let him out He'll tear me up, break me down**_  
 _ **Why won't somebody come and save me from this? make it end!**_

 _ **I feel it deep within, It's just beneath the skin**_  
 _ **I must confess that I feel like a Monster**_  
 _ **I hate what I've become, the nightmare's just begun**_  
 _ **I must confess that I feel like a Monster**_

 _ **I feel it deep within, It's just beneath the skin**_  
 _ **I must confess that I feel like a Monster**_  
 _ **I- I- feel like a Monster**_  
 _ **I- I- feel like a Monster**_

 _ **It's hiding in the dark, It's teeth are razor sharp**_  
 _ **There's no escape for me it wants my soul it wants my heart**_  
 _ **No one can hear me scream, maybe it's just a dream**_

 _ **Maybe it's inside of me**_  
 _ **Stop this Monster!"**_

At this moment he lets his guitar hang around his shoulders, slumping slightly and covers his face with his hand, pretending to be facing some inner demon. " _ **I feel it deep within, It's just beneath the skin..."**_ _'Here goes..'_

 _ **"I must confess that I.."**_ He takes a sharp breath in, activates a small tinge of his devil power and strengthens his vocal chords. On the outside, his green eyes glow maliciously as he scrapes his nails in his cheek and causes his voice to sound feral and demonic _**"Feel Like A Monster!"**_

He brings his voice back to normal to play out the rest of the song as the crowd explodes in awe and wonder.

 _ **"I feel it deep within, It's just beneath the skin**_  
 _ **I must confess that I feel like a Monster**_  
 _ **I hate what I've become, the nightmare's just begun**_  
 _ **I must confess that I feel like a Monster**_

 _ **I feel it deep within, It's just beneath the skin**_  
 _ **I must confess that I feel like a Monster**_  
 _ **I'm gonna lose control, It's something Radical**_  
 _ **I must confess that I feel like a Monster**_

 _ **I- I- feel like a Monster**_  
 _ **I- I- feel like a Monster**_  
 _ **I- I- feel like a Monster**_  
 _ **I- I- feel like a Monster!"**_

The band takes a bow and several fans and fangirls swarm to the stage wondering how they got so good or how Kumonji did the thing with his voice or one of a thousand other things. Eventually the packed area dies down and the ORC along with Rias' father and brother, Issei's parents, Teiya, and Miss Tokumatsu are left to chat. The Invitation over to Issei's place is unanimously accepted with no small amount of grumbling from Rias and Issei. **"It's so nice to see the House Gremory keeping up public appearances"** Miss Tokumatsu states, causing both Rias and Kumonji to choke on their bottled waters and spittake in rather comical symmetry.

 _ **"You two know each other?!"**_ the two young redheads shout in unison.

 **"Why yes, in fact the Tokumatsu are our distant relations. I guess that makes you two Cousins by blood, thrice removed."**

No appropriate response could be prepared. The pair of them could only maintain a mildly shocked silence at this development all the way to Issei's house, punctuated only by Kumonji murmuring inaudibly about how he had seen Rias' funbags only yesterday as well as Rias sputtering syllables under her breath. Thankfully the only mortals in the house couldn't tell that what had just happened was a devil family reunion of sorts. The only saving grace was that Issei was there to support Rias and Akeno for Kumonji, who was glad that at least one conversation tonight would be less awkward.

* * *

~~End Chapter~~

* * *

 **A/N:** er.. ma.. gerd.

even i didn't see that coming! well okay maybe i did but i'm not telling you that.

Btw yes that Nagato was supposed to be Yuki Nagato, moderate hint at "Melancholy of.." mostly the Haruhi version with Nagato on guitar and Haruhi on lead vocals. In this case however Yuki was just Yuki. She would probably be a good friend to Koneko. Hell they could be sisters.. o.o

As always and forever, faves follows and most of all Reviews make me a happy and more productive writer-director-producer-thing.

Much love, peace and hair grease! ^u^


	22. 1000 Arsenal Revealed

Hello again all and welcome to more ridiculous hijinx mayhem and devilish good times. I'm your host. Wilkommen, Bienvenue! FTO continues now!

 **DxD and any other anime, manga, or work of art is property of their respective owners. I made nothing, I own only the red haired one.**

* * *

There sat the Devil King, ruler of the underworld and judge/jury/executioner of Hell itself. Issei, Rias, Kumonji, Akeno, Asia, and even Kiba balked as he laughed and downed another beer in the face of Mr Hyoudo, who had he known with whom he was drinking would understand how he had been drunk so _very_ far under the table. Mrs Hyoudo, having long since gone to bed from the party which stretched now into the wee hours of morning, had given up after only a few brews and dizzily marched up the stairs and was now snoring rather peacefully. Her husband on the other hand had found himself sprawled over the couch with his last (barely) conscious thought being that he had been outdone in the game of drink by his shy neighbor Mrs Erisu Tokumatsu who normally seemed so reserved and timid. Kumonji made a note that his mom was clearly a force to be reckoned with and saved said note in his mental folder of things he never knew.

 **"Ah well,"** Sir Zechs stated, more to break the silence that followed Issei draping a blanket over his dad. **"You seem to have had fun dad."**

 **"Been ages since I could just cut loose like this. I plan on making the most of it."** Rias' father replied giddily, barely even buzzed despite the sheer volume of liquor he'd consumed, which begged the question: _'Where did he put it all?'_ the entire Occult Research Club thought in unison. **"Erisu please forgive the rude behavior. It's been so long, but then again social convention being what it is I couldn't leave Lady Leviathan on her own to pester her younger sister."**

 **"Think nothing of it, I'm just glad to see my old master in such high spirits again,"** Erisu replied, slightly tipsy but still in the 'happy' stage of inebriation.

 **"Okay since nobody else is gonna say it Time Out. Mom, you were in Rias' dad's peerage. As in, one of the Former Devil King's protectors? You never mentioned it to us.. What the Hell?!"** Kumonji half-bellowed.

 **"That's correct. You would be the older sibling Kumonji, correct? To answer your question she did in fact serve me for a good long time and was very good at fighting as well as her non-combat duties. As a matter of fact, your mother probably never told you about your lineage at all. Erisu was one of my Rooks, having come from a long and powerful line of devils from the clan bearing your name Tokumatsu. In fact, the Tokumatsu were one of the original 73 pillars of Devil royalty in the underworld leading up to the Great Three-Way War."** Mr Gremory cocked an eyebrow as he waited for the expected reaction.

 **"J- sh- WHAT?!"** Teiya nearly dropped her glass, Kumonji's mind reeled. None of the other devils knew how to process the information either. **"You said** _ **'were'**_ **though. As in 'we** _ **were**_ **high class but got wiped out.' I thought the only ones remaining were the families of the Devil Kings currently in power."**

 **"That's actually not correct."** Sir Zechs intervened. **"It was well known that your bloodline is notorious for being difficult to kill, a truly enduring people. Your ancestor, a man who was sent to fight in the Three-Way War, was reputed to have fighting spirit which brought him home from every battlefield he ever set foot upon. Having come home beaten but alive after the incident with the Twin Sky Dragons he resigned his title seeking a more peaceful life with his family. He had found love with a woman whom he had met once while saving her life. But it wasn't meant to be, for she was human. Upon seeing who and what he truly was she turned him away, at which point he went into hiding and handed his birthright down to his oldest son. Tokumatsu blood stayed in the underworld marrying devils of nobility or strength. Then came your mother, the only child of your grandfather. Right away I knew she was destined for something great, if she could control her temper."** At this, Sir Zechs smiles and laughs a little, as does Erisu. **"But her heart belonged to a man who wasn't a devil, and she wouldn't take no for an answer."**

Erisu looked down into her cup, and Kumonji took a moment to piece it all together. As did everyone else in the room.

 **"Mom.. You gave up everything to be with Dad?"** Teiya spoke first.

 **"Unfortunately, this meant exile and condemnation. I tried to get the others to see reason but those narrow minded blockheads had their minds made up. I see you've done well for yourself, even raised a couple of fine kids on your own."** Sir Zechs spoke with pride.

 **"Which presents an issue."** And Rias' dad steps in to kill the mood. **"Your father passed before handing down your family heirloom, unless it was given to you Erisu. From the legends of old it wouldn't be a far reaching assumption that it can be rather picky and stubborn with its wielders."**

 **"Sadly no I don't have it. Old man kinda just disappeared one day, but I never saw it. Part of me hoped it was because he lived and would come home again."** Erisu's mood dampened a little further.

 **"..This heirloom, what does it look like Sir?"** Kumonji had a bad feeling but decided to ask anyway.

 **"It has no definite shape or mass, a rarity in and of itself. The Thousand Weapons Arsenal as it was called takes the form of any offensive or defensive tool its wielder desires, a very unique sacred gear that can only be passed genetically to a worthy heir."** As he described it the former Devil King created from thin air a rendering of a figure donned in many different armors and holding weapons of all kinds, the image changing rapidly again and again. Everyone from Rias' peerage and Teiya looked in awe.

 **"Sounds a lot like your sacred gear Ku- OOMPH!"** Issei was silenced by high speed pillow impact, but the damage had been done.

 **"You possess such a thing Kumonji? Please, if you could show me I'd very much like to see it and judge if this may be the missing piece."** Sir Zechs leaned in, eyes now focused on the rook who sunk in his seat but stood reluctantly.

 **" -Sigh- Seras, could you please come out and say hi?"** He called to seemingly nobody. At first nothing happened until Issei spotted something very wrong with his chest. Something very VERY wrong.

Kumonji, for lack of a better term, had grown massive shiny silver breasts hidden inside a shirt that was not his own. The metal continued to pour out of his sternum and form the bust, torso, head, and arms of a woman made entirely of silver metal and wearing what appeared to be an outdated English police officer's uniform.

 _ **"Hello everyone! It's a pleasure to meet you all."**_ Seras saluted and smiled, the hollow figure sticking out of Kumonji as if she were standing in front of him. _**"My name is Seras Victoria, and I'm in charge of keeping knucklehead here safe from harm. As best I can anyway. Troublemaker somehow manages to keep me busy often."**_

Behind him, he could hear Akeno snickering.

 **"My my,"** the queen mused **"It seems Issei isn't the only one with an affinity for large breasts."** Kumonji's cheeks flushed as a tick mark appeared on the back of his head. _'I'm not like that dammit!'_

 **"Ms Victoria was it? I'm assuming you heard our conversation earlier."** Sir Zechs continued as if talking to a person rather than a sentient half-statue.

 _ **"Correct, I did. My powers are very much like that, as long as he thinks it I can be it. For example: "**_ She imprinted herself onto his upper half, molded into form-fitting armor right down to the fingernails and scar on his arm, which she smoothed over. She then gives him a split coverage of armor, full spartan helmet and chest plate with the shield made smaller to manage more easily. Lastly she conceals herself under his clothes and covers only his arms and shoulders, tapping his left hand on his right pec to make the metallic cling to show that it's there. When she finished showing off she retreated back into his body once more. **"She acts like a second skin when I'm caught off guard or need more strength."**

 **"Well well, never thought I'd see that again."** Mr Gremory remarked. **"Kumonji, just so you're aware that's no ordinary Sacred Gear you have there. Just by holding it you claim the leadership of your house back from ruin. This means you'd one day be in charge of your own peerage and hold great influence on the goings on of Hades, contingent of course on you being able to prove your worth before the Grand Council. You'd also be sought after by women and be able to choose a fine wife. Think it over."**

Calmly, he stood and bowed to Sir Zechs and his father, gritting his teeth as he raised his head. Kumonji looked them dead in the eyes and gathered himself. **"Thank you, but I'll pass. If you'll excuse me."** He walked toward the door with Akeno and Xenovia not far behind.

The air became tense as the Father of Rias Gremory as well as Sir Zechs turned their attention to Issei. **"So I hear you're taking care of our Rias young man. I hope you realize that our expectations of you are incredibly high if you want to win Rias' heart"** Sir Zechs stated rather boldly. Issei stiffened under their gaze but bowed respectfully and held his ground.

 **"I understand, as a pawn of Rias I will do anything for her you can bet on it."**

 **"Glad to hear"** Rias' father said dismissively, hoping to put the young man's mind at ease.

Kumonji walked next door to his own home, opened the door and turned when he noticed he wasn't alone. With a deep breath he regarded both women with a soft smile. **"Won't you both come in? you can stay here with me if you'd like. Er.. not like that.. You know what I meant."**

Both Xenovia and Akeno nodded and followed him in, taking off their shoes and following him to the living room.

 **"You guys can share my room if you'd like, or stay down here, whichever you prefer. I get the feeling Mom and Teiya won't be home for a while so make yourselves at home."** His smile, while genuine, hid the emotion and train of thought going on in his head.

Akeno was the first to see through it and put a delicate hand on his wrist. **"It's okay to tell us how you really feel you know. The things that must be going through your head.."**

 **"To be given such responsibility is no small matter, no matter how you cut it. If you weren't terrified right now I'd think you were possibly mad."**

 **"Oh I'm mad alright. How could they shun mom just because she loves someone who wasn't a devil? How dare they try to tell me that I have to do this or that because of something I never chose? I didn't ask to be in charge of anything. If I say yes, which is what they expect me to do, that means I have to leave you guys and be away from you all. I could never abandon my friends for things like titles or fame. It's unconscionable!"** Kumonji clenched his fists.

 **"We understand how you feel Kumonji. We don't want to lose you either, but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Even if you decide not to accept it, please give it due thought."**

 **"I agree with Akeno, while it may not be ideal the chance may never come again."**

Kumonji said nothing, but trembled at the idea of being apart from his friends, from his best friend.. From Akeno, and even Xenovia. What was this feeling? He couldn't possibly feel this deep connection to two women at once could he?

 **"Thank you. Both of you. I think I should rest for a little bit and try to think with a clearer head."** But as fate would have it, his phone chose that exact moment to ring. **"Allo?"**

 **"-monji! -kzzzzzzz- your help! I'm -kssssssshhhh- Bridge! Whaaaaa!"** That was Minato's voice, and it sounded like something big was going on. _'Bridge.. he said something about a bridge. Was he on one, or near one, or headed to one?'_

 **"I'll be right there Minato. Just hold tight. Looks like I have work to do,"** he said to Akeno and Xenovia at the same time. Without waiting for them to give approval he flew off toward the closest bridge to Minato's place.

 _ **~FTO~**_

 **"Every other bridge was blocked or had it's power knocked out by now. That just leaves.."** There was a bridge headed out of the city, and away from the designated "Sekirei Plan" area, as it had been described by Matsu. **"Of course, he's planning an escape!"** He dove and gained speed, nearly there when he saw Minato and Musubi. Minato was struggling to not fall through a hole in the pavement and Musubi was face down, arm outstretched.

And there were others. This did not bode well.

One of them, a rather flat chested woman walked up to Musubi fist raised and delivered a punch to her back that knocked the wind from her lungs and caused her to cough up blood as she collapsed. Just as the battering woman prepared to strike again a comet seemed to strike and shoot her through the surface of the bridge, leaving a perfectly round pothole with cracks of cement crumbling in behind her. Her cohort, the one wielding claws and seeming to be covered entirely in bandages, poked her head over the hole to see what the hell happened only for some.. thing.. to reach up and swallow her top half before retreating with her to the running river some 20 feet below. Seeming both perplexed and enraged, they both emerged a moment later soaked and gasping.

 **"What... the hell?!"** The one with pink hair, Benitsubasa, bellowed. Her uniform dripped and clung to her in the most irritating way now, and whatever it was that hit her nearly resembled a large bullet only to disappear as she hit the water. She was a member of the Discipline Squad, there was no way she would be taken down a peg like that.

Haihane, on the other hand, looked rather disinterested in this development as she clambered up into place again. Except that she saw two men standing over a fallen Musubi.

 **"It's gonna be okay Musubi."**

 **"Kumonji!"** Minato reeled and turned to face the devil, who had his armor clenched over both fists rather tightly in a pair of MMA gloves that were visibly reinforced at the knuckles.

 **"Hey, whoever you are. This is none of your busi-"** Before Benitsubasa could finish the sentence he was right there, in her face with a glare that caused her, a hardened fighter, to flinch. She cocked back and struck him in the cheek, but immediately regretted it as her hand burned and recoiled from having broken two fingers. A kick, slapping against his thigh as he blocked and countered by rolling into her with a solid elbow to her midsection. Blow for blow punches and kicks she tried to land would be deflected and countered. For every time she struck she found herself being pushed back until her back found one of the bridge's steel beams. Standing out like a grotesque skeleton warped by time she ducked and avoided having her head caved in by his fist which shook the thing and caused a squeal of despair. He caught her with a knee to her ribs and shot her against the metal only to bounce off and groan in frustration.

 **"You attacked my friends. That makes it my business."** Benitsubasa drew back her other fist and attempted to strike at his solar plexus, but Kumonji's fist intersected hers and sent a shock wave through the air. His armor dented he noted, but the fist opened and slunk up her good arm into tube that kept them both from moving.

 **"So your plan is to stalemate me with this wierd trick of yours? Idiot, my specialty is close ranged combat of all kinds."** Benitsubasa kicked his side, but he hardly flinched. She grimaced, seeming to have kicked more body armor and stinging the top of her foot.

 **"No actually, my plan was to immobilize both of your arms."** our hero's fist drew back out of the tube, bare fist with a ring around the wrist that connected to the tube. All at once a hissing sound erupted and his hand slid home at great speed, sounding in a loud _CRACK!_

Benitsubasa's arm was instantly shook free, but there was no mistaking it: he had broken her arm and wrist in at least a dozen places. As the glove retreated into him she spotted blood coming from his arm as well.

 **"Not gonna lie, that hurt both of us. But at least you won't be fighting anyone else for a while."** They separated and Benitsubasa threw a backhanded swing at him in pure anger, but he just ducked it and uppercut her, sending her into a sprawled unconscious heap. Kumonji turned his gaze to Haihane, only to be stunned by water arrows flying past his head and impacting against her claws. Tsukiumi had arrived.

 **"Well well. Looks like you two have failed me again."**

 **"Ah! Karasuba!"** Haihane looked up at the Black Sekirei herself, descending upon the scene rather gracefully despite having an air of death about her.

Then, as if sensing the impending threat, Musubi stood. Bare except her gloves boots and panties she rose like a marrionette on strings. Behind him, Kumonji sensed Kuu and Matsu arrive via motorcycle and quickly filled them in on what had happened up to this point.

 **"Those who stand in the way of love.. shall answer to me! It is deplorable how far the discipline squad has fallen. I shall have to correct this. I am number 8, Yume."**

 **"My my, it's been a while Yume."**

 **"Long time no see Karasuba."**

 **"You understand that letting those two go means I have to kill you now."**

 **"You may try. But first.."** Musubi, or Yume as she was calling herself, grasped both Benitsubasa and Haihane by the ankles, just in time for Benitsubasa to wake up and freak out. **"Since neither of you have the compassion necessary to be members of the discipline squad, I'm throwing you both out!"** With that they were chucked like softballs to the far distance, leaving most of the onlookers quite stunned at the display of strength.

 **"Bravo, but now it's my turn. YUME!"** With a cry the black sekirei drew a sword from her side and swung, missing Yume. Again and again she sliced, only through air as though Yume truly were untouchable. It was difficult to hear from where they were standing but Yume muttered something to her enemy, something which made her stop with the point of her blade inches away from Yume's throat, only to sheath it again. Kumonji heard well enough, but decided that some things were best left unheard.

Karasuba sheathed her sword, just in time as Musubi seemed to be Musubi again. **"Oh! Karasuba, when did you get here? The last thing I remember was being knocked out and then.. nothing."**

 **"Musubi, if you got beaten by the likes of Benitsubasa you need to train more diligently. There's no excuse for you to let yourself be beaten so easily."**

 **"Right!"** With that Musubi saluted and Karasuba walked off and vanished. Kumonji made a move to leave as well, only to find himself stopped by hugs from several of the sekirei, as well as Minato.

 **"Thanks man. You really saved our ass back there."**

 **"Don't worry about it, it's the least I could do."**

 **"..thou art not quite as deplorable as previously thought. I suppose."**

 **"I like you too Tsukiumi."**

 **"You really came through in the clutch."**

 **"Yeah that's nice and all but.. you realize that most of you are almost naked?"** The devil covered his eyes in a bar of metal, almost like a blindfold. The only problem was that in his mind's eye he could still see them as though he had instead put on glasses.

 _ **"That's your third eye being opened. You've sacrificed yourself for your friends many times, but it takes a humility to see the world beyond just what the eyes see."**_ came Seras' voice in his head. _**"With enough practice and meditation, you'll be able to see as I do."**_

Back outside in the real world despite his protests he held all of them again.

 **"Hey, if it's alright with you guys I'd like to come by once in a while and train with all of you, stay sharp."**

With a resounding cheer they all agreed that would be fine and let him on his way home. Above the scene, two figures turned to follow him home.

 **~FTO~**

It had been nearly a half dozen blocks and finally he had had enough. Someone was following Kumonji and it had become increasingly annoying. However, looking back every time he saw nothing, despite Seras insisting that someone was tailing him. The feeling of eyes burning in the back of his head and the subtle echo of gentle footsteps behind his admittedly lazy scuffing had been glaringly apparent. Finally he rounded a corner and broke into a sprint, trying to lose his unwanted tail. Zigging and zagging through the heart of the city turned a few heads but with every turn down a new street or skidding into an alley he was becoming more certain he had lost his follower.

Standing in an alleyway that struck him as familiar he crouched behind some boxes listening to the dwindling number of people walking by in order to attempt to surmise if he was alone again.

a moment passed.

..another moment.

They were gone.

 **"You try awfully hard not to get caught don't you?"** A male voice. From above him. **"hey there."** Standing there in what appeared to be a school uniform was a boy, high school age by the looks of it. His skin was somewhat tan but still fair. His eyes and hair both a dark slate color verging on black. He lowered himself to street level and sat on one of the boxes across from Kumonji.

 **"And you are..?"** Kumonji asked warily.

 **"Yuu."**

 **"Yea, you."**

 **"No no, I'm Yuu."**

 **"Look man don't try to get zen on me, I just wanna know who you are."**

 **"You misunderstand, I'm Yuu."**

 **"..don't make me hit you."**

At that moment another boy wearing an identical but slightly tighter school uniform and glasses stood at the mouth of the alley. Grey hair, just like..

That's when Kumonji realized that this was the alley he had died in. Well didn't this just suck fat ones.

 **"I swear if you say his name is Me I'll clobber you both for being cheeky."**

 **"Actually,"** replied the grey haired boy **"His name isn't 'you' it's 'Yuu,' as in hot water. Otosaka Yuu. I'm Jojiro Takajo. We're here because we belong to a group of individuals who, let's just say have certain gifts. You appear to be one of them."**

 **"Uh huh.. look I appreciate your persistence but if this is some sort of recruitment to Eagle Scouts or a religious thing thanks but I'm busy enough already."**

 **"That's not what we mean. I'm afraid I have to insist on you joining us and transferring schools so we can keep you safe."** Takajo stated.

 **"Thank you but no, I'm plenty fine where I am."**

 **"Sorry, but it isn't optional."** He adjusted his glasses making them glint in the city lights.

Suddenly Kumonji felt something impact his cheek, and yet he barely budged. Grabbing whatever it was that he couldn't see it felt like..

 **"Did someone just try to kick me?"** He pushed away the foot that was against his face and wiped his cheek.

 **"No way, he couldn't have seen me coming I'm sure of it!"** A young woman's voice. This time she tried to (kick?) him in the ribs and follow up with a punch to his gut but neither one seemed to affect him. Revealing herself as a shorter woman of white hair done up in twintails and the same uniform as the othe two she dared to knee his groin, which elicited a reaction despite his rook's defense.

 **"I dunno who you are, but I'm not going with you."** Kumonji's eyes glowed yellow, sprouting some of his metal armor in layered plates over his most sensitive places.

 **"Yuu?"** The young woman shouted at seeing this

 **"Right."** The dark haired boy known as Yuu's eyes began to glow green and he slumped over, just as Kumonji felt himself instantly black out.

Yuu stood very still, ready to give the order for Takajo to strike, but instead felt this very dark presence in the back of his mind and a pair of red eyes glaring down upon him. The very essence scared him senseless and he was shocked into a cold sweat.

 _ **"Boo."**_ Seras literally scared him out of Kumonji's body and back into his own, face down on the pavement as Kumonji regained his sense of self.

 **"What.. what was that.. who are you?"** Yuu was noticably frightened as Kumonji shook his head.

 **"I see you've met Seras. And I'm not some person who has abilities. If that's all you think I am, you're way out of your league."** Before he could think Takajo burst forward with remarkable speed, clearly trying to tackle or body check Kumonji.

However, Kumonji stuck out his hand and caught him, both of them skidding deeper into the alley where things were much darker. Takajo, utterly bewildered, tried to step back and teleport forward again, only this time Kumonji stuck out his foot as he stepped aside, causing him to tumble toward the street. As he was about to go headlong into traffic a web of metal chains caught him and pulled him back into the alley beside his friends. They all glared at him but before the fight could resume he merely spread his wings for them.

 **"Like I said, out of your league. I did say I wasn't a normal human didn't I? Tokumatsu Kumonji, at your service."**

 **"..our mistake. Please forgive us."** With that the three of them walked away with a wider scope of the world they lived in. Kumonji wiped his cheek and took off toward his house once more, eager to be home before the night was completely wasted. Maybe he would be lucky and get to cuddle with one of the two fine women in his bedroom. The thought both disturbed him with how perverse he was becoming and excited him that he had not one but two women interested in him, one in a very explicit and carnal way.

 **~End of Chapter~**

 **Hi guys, so i feel like i ought to explain exactly what the holdup was on this one.**

 **First, Moving sucks. The whole prospect of living off of the bare essentials and being ready to leave as soon as the contract is signed, yuck. this was made worse by the fact that the entire process took 10 months from putting the house on the market to finally closing and handing over the keys. the worst part of all was that when it came to packing up my room, the first boxes to be put up were all of my anime DVD's, all the manga i had acquired, my laptop, and the flash drives i use as references for ideas motivation and that have my half-started chapters or critical plot points saved on them. so that all went away on day one. 8 months later there's light at the end of the tunnel, only for the process to be set back another month and finally after moving down here taking an extra 2 weeks just setting up my room opening boxes etc etc. thank you sweet lord Lucifer i found the flash drive and got some time to write. as such, this story is hereby officially back on track.**

 **tldr: moving sucks, flash drive with the chapters on it was in a box in a box in a box for 9 3/4 months.**

 **I'll sign off here because the next segment has spoilers for the anime Charlotte so if you haven't seen it yet i don't recommend reading the next part until you've gone through and given that a cursory glance.**

 **Peace n Hair grease!**

 **-Side note regarding the last segment of this chapter: yes that is Yuu Takajo and Nao of Charlotte (great anime and manga, definitely worth looking into), and that segment is something of an omake although it's also canon in that -**

 **[Spoiler alert!]**

 **Shunsuke, and subsequently Yuu, time skipping backward to change the past is the explanation to Kumonji's mental "Visions" or foresight. If you've seen the episodes where Yuu is able to recall alternate timelines based on the fact that he's relived so many of them and ultimately both he and Shunsuke reshaping things where nobody else could remember but the two of them you know what's going on. Shunsuke's skip somehow lept over to Yuu's memory possibly due to him having time-lept. Kumonji, being an outsider and having read all of these manga and watched the anime before could technically have "lived" (experienced) everything enough in the real world to have vague memories until he made his deal a few chapters ago. This would only be furthered by him actually experiencing the anime firsthand as he would have lived this life parallel to the events of Charlotte equal to the number of timeleaps already in place, granting him a sort of temporal immunity by proxy.**


	23. Love Triumphs (content advisory)

**Hello Everyone everywhere, as a bonus I busted out a second chapter that was sitting ready to publish after a little refining and now that this story is back in action why not start it out with two chapters.**

 **Warning! This chapter contains EXPLICIT sexual content and elements of alternative sex. Naughty by nature, if you don't like sex, light bondage, or femdom don't read. You've been warned.**

 **High School DxD property of Ishibumi and all rights reserved blah blah i don't own anything except kumonji i just write for funzies.**

* * *

Arriving home after his run ins and having now had enough time to clear his head Kumonji decided that despite his unwillingness to leave his friends and lead ANYTHING he should take the test that the devil king had presented. After all, he could still just say no after he passed right? _'Remarkable what a little violence and someone trying to beat your head in will do to your perspective.'_

The redhead unlocked his front door and walked in, grateful to be home. Xenovia and Akeno had been blown off long enough, he should at least do as Rias suggested and take them out. Starting tonight, he would treat them as potential lovers and take them out on proper dates, both of them. No more pity parties or half-assing it at romance.

As soon as he came into the common room Xenovia got up and hugged him, nearly knocking him over but all the same she seemed genuinely happy he was there. He hugged her back and noted how lucky he was sometimes. However that thought quickly dispelled when Akeno didn't join in, in fact she was nowhere to be found.

 **"Hey, Xenovia where did Akeno go? There was something I wanted to tell you both."**

 **"She decided to go back home for the night. I asked if she wanted me to walk with he just in case there was anything to worry about but she refused and said that she would be fine."** From her pocket she produced a small square of paper folded neatly into a self-containing message. **"She said to give you this. It sounded somewhat urgent."** There was a momentary pause as he debated whether or not to just open it right away. **"Kumonji.** **If it's okay with you I think I would like to move in here permanently. We get along well enough, and your family has already made the offer but I wanted to ask you first. After all, Rias said we should start dating, and couples often move in with each other before intercourse do they not?"**

 **"Well not necessarily but it's kinda HEY WAIT there will be no intercourse here at least not right away. -Sigh- But, yes. I was hoping you both would. In fact I decided I will date both you and Akeno like Rias said. And with that being said,"** he kissed her cheek and smiled warmly **"I should go tell my other girlfriend the good news. I'll see you later okay?"** With that he turned and departed once more. Somehow he was never truly home anymore except to go somewhere else as soon as he got comfortable.

* * *

Kumonji knocks on the door of Akeno's home, his heart beating madly. **"Akeno-senpai? May I come in?"**

 **"Enter"** her voice is gentle, and can barely be heard from behind the door. He slides the door open, keeping his eyes averted since last time she was barely dressed.

This time though he finds her fully dressed and comes in. **"It's nice here. Last time I was here I didn't get to admire your home."**

 **"Sit, Kumonji... I... We...Need to talk"**

The redhead took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He knew it would come to this but somehow all the mental preparation in the world fell short when faced with the reality that it was happening. **"Yeah, we do."** The young man finds a spot and sits. **"After all of this fighting and the secrets, I've realized that lying and hiding the truth from you was wrong. And so is dancing around our relationship instead of determining where we stand."**

Akeno remains quiet for a bit, before answering. **"Do you really love me, Kumonji?"**

 **"Ever since I met you."** He lunges forward and takes her hands. **"All I've ever wanted was to protect you from the truth. But I realize now like I did at the pool that you don't need to be protected. I need you Akeno-senpai."**

She smiles gently at that, and Kumonji notices something: she's trembling ever so slightly.

 **"Um, Akeno?"** His fingers take hers and hold them them delicately **"Do you.. Want me to go?"**

She shakes her head. **"No... It's just... I... Uhm... I am going to tell you something, but I need you to swear to me that you won't mock me, or look at me in disgust..."**

Kumonji looks her in the eyes, sensing that something is troubling her, something she was afraid to let anyone know. **"I can trust you with my secret and you didn't push me away. The least I can do for you is the same. I love you Akeno. I can handle anything you tell me."**

Akeno takes a deep breath. **"I love you Kumonji. I love you so much, that I want to give my entire being to you... But... I'm afraid that you may run if I show you that side of me..."**

 **"Not now, not Ever."** He steadied himself. Kokabiel had spilled it much earlier but the fact that she was able to tell him now he understood the gravity. Some things meant much more coming directly from the source.

Akeno let her wings unfold behind her, and this time Kumonji saw them clearly. She had hid them well since he knew her, or spent great amounts of energy to make both wings match, but here in her home she revealed one black leathery wing of a devil, and the other silhouetted by a raven's feathers- Her father's wing, the wing of a fallen angel.

He flinched involuntarily, but before she could register he reached out and touched the edge of it. Despite its origin and equally sinister appearance, it was soft and delicate to the touch, twitching and recoiling away as if it alone were sentient and hesitant at his touch.

 **"Akeno, I don't care whose daughter you are or where you come from. You're still the woman I was enchanted with laying under the cherry trees, who nursed me back to life after I was reinstated as a devil, and despite having a thing for frying me constantly for incidental perversion,"** his sentence cut short by a tender kiss to her lips which caused both of their wings to expand to their full span, **"someone I could spend my life with whether it be five minutes or five millennia."**

Akeno's smile spread, soft and composed but she knew that her heart belonged to him, undoubtedly. She brought him in closer now, his firm body against hers and taking control as she moved him onto his rook's eyes widen slightly. His heartbeat pounds in his ears. **"You.. You and me?"** His face flushes at her implication. He clears his throat behind his balled fist in a pathetic attempt to steel himself. **"At any rate, I would be willing to try, provided we can take things slow and work up to your.. Proclivities."**

Akeno looks him over, slightly surprised. **"Are... Are you sure?"**

In truth, Kumonji was well aware of her love for S&M, and he himself wasn't averse to a little pain. But with Akeno, he'd experienced firsthand her strength and the joy she got from flexing it. To say that the threat of pain from her was frightening would be a grave understatement.

 **"You forget, you've fried me with lightning before. It hurts, but for you I'll endure. Just.. I've never.. With a woman."**

Akeno smiles softly at him **"Neither have I."** Kumonji deadpans. _'That's not exactly the point I was trying to make.'_ His thought was interrupted when she held her hand out to him. **"..Do you trust me?"**

He nods and takes it in his own hand. **"With my life. And my heart."**

Akeno stands and turns with a confident look on her face. **"Then follow me."** He gets up and follows her quietly as she leads him down a corridor of empty rooms into must be her personal bedroom. **"Are you sure that you want this?"**

 **"I've never been more sure of anything."** He takes her cheek in his hand and kisses her lips softly. Akeno looks a bit startled, but relaxes into it, sighing in pleasure. She breaks the kiss momentarily. **"If things get too intense... Cry out Dragon King. Okay?"**

Kumonji nods and looks her in the eyes, those deep piercing endless lavender eyes. **"Dragon King. Got it."** He chuckles halfheartedly trying to put on a brave front. **"My resiliency might surprise you."**

Akeno undoes her yellow ribbon, making her hair fall down her back and flow in the light of the candles. **"Give me your hands."**

He holds out both of his palms with a smile.

 **"As your mistress,"** Akeno stated while tying his hands tightly together with the silky yellow fabric **"You must trust me completely. No matter what I do, you must know that I am not going to hurt you badly."**

Kumonji grunts as the ribbon tightens, slightly digging into his skin. **"I understand. I'll do what you ask, and trust you."** He holds his hands up and tests the feel of her silk ribbon. It's difficult to move, but she tied him up well, even taking care that it won't break from his rook strength. What's more, it smells just like her shampoo. _'Perfect'_ he thought, letting his hands fall to his chest.

Akeno gives him a gentle push, letting him fall backwards onto her bed with a surprised yelp. Kumonji pomfs on the bed's (thankfully soft) mattress and looks expectantly up at his love. Akeno slowly begins to strip out of her miko outfit, revealing a set of black lace bra and panties. **"How does your mistress look?"**

 **"You look like a vision of beauty. You're more beautiful now than when I first met you."** The redhead presses his bound hands to his crotch to conceal the developing bulge in his pants. The two of them are finally alone, and he's confessed his love. Now, she's standing before him in her lace underwear. His heart pounds so loud in his chest he can hear his own pulse but he gulps his nerves away and surrenders to the moment.

 **"This wont do at all."** she says, gripping his pants and begins to undo them **"What are you hiding from your mistress?"**

Kumonji averts his eyes shyly but lifts his hands away. His jeans are unbuttoned and the supple fabric of his underwear outlines his manhood **"I'm just.. Nervous."**

 **"I can tell. Off go the boxers!"** With a single tug the fabric is torn away from his body as her eyes go wide. **"My my... Such a pleasant surprise that my new toy has."** She has that look on her face already, that sultry grin he's only seen in battle when she's entertaining herself. Kumonji gets an anxious shiver as she licks her lips. His cheeks burn pink, shirt ruffled and erection raised against his body. Akeno also notes that he's clean cut, not a single hair below the belt.

 **"Akeno.. You have no idea how much I've wanted this."**

She gently flicks his tool, enough to sting just a little. **"In this bedroom, I am your mistress. You will refer to me as such, or you will be punished."** As if to emphasize the point she bites her fingernails into the collar of his shirt, sending a pulse of her magic through it causing the fabric to shred like tissue paper.

 **"ah! Y-yes mistress!"** he says, flinching slightly but quickly regains his posture.

 **"Good boy~"** she states, beginning to stroke his rod gently and gauging his reaction. Kumonji had admittedly masturbated a few times but her hand was a bit more clumsy, sending shivers up and down his spine **"Ak- Mistress.."** His legs cringe and turn inward at the knees. She ignores him as she leans forward, taking a small lick of his head. His eyes go wide, looking down at her. Is this the same teasing woman who only a moment ago was insecure about her kinky side? **"A-Akeno!"** it slips out before he can stop himself.

The ravenette sighs and goes to her bed stand, rummaging around before pulling out a small riding crop. **"What did I tell you to call me?"**

 **"I-I'm sorry mistress."** braces himself, reaching above his head to grip the headboard.

Akeno's sadistic smile appears again. _'For a hot girl she can really be scary as hell!'_ **"Not yet you aren't~"** She brings the crop down and strikes the outside of his thigh, giving him a painful sting but not as bad as it could have been. Kumonji yelps, withdrawing a bit until the pain fades. He has to bite his lip but a sharp inhale later and he's okay.

 **"What are you to call me?"** she says, bending the crop in her hands

 **"Mistress! You're my mistress."** his nails bite into the headboard nervously.

 **"Good~ Well I was going to treat you nicely, but since you blundered so badly..."** She places a clothed foot on top of his cock, her toes rubbing over it **"You get my foot"**

 **"nn!"** He whimpers, pushing his hips up under her foot. As much as he hated to admit it, her torture was surprisingly pleasant.

 **"Liking my foot? What a dirty boy~"** she says, rubbing up and down on his massive shaft. He throbs and twitches under her foot, squirming more as she teases and rubs his tip. **"Mistress.. Please.."** his breathing gets more ragged, blushing now getting worse as the woman of his dreams stands all but bare over him and teasing his most intimate place.

 **"Beg, my dirty little boy~ I want to hear what your perverse heart desires!"** She says, increasing the pace of her rubbing.

Kumonji's grip tightens dangerously, causing the wooden headboard in his hands to creak and splinter in protest. He holds his breath for a moment. **"P-Please Mistress! I need your body and I want to make love to you!"** He can feel himself on the edge, a hair's breadth from staining her sock and himself.

To his relief, she takes her foot off of his cock and stands over him. She pulls her panties to the side, exposing her wet flower to him as she kneels down to his mouth. **"Please your mistress first~"**

Gasping, he lets go of his grip and looks in awe as she shows her bare slit. Her nether lips are met with his own lips, driven by an overwhelming lust and desire to service her. **"Mrftrff~"** His voice is mumbled, though the vibrations inside her cause her to instinctively buck into him more. His tongue slides out and parts her tight folds, taking her first time for his own. Despite having to keep his arms up over his head to get to her, he's spurred on by every lick, every thrust, every grind. For each action she gives a soft moan and finds herself combing her fingers through his mussed mohawk. The rook looks up and watches as her back arches and her breasts heave from a gentle gasp. _'She's so damn beautiful.'_ He probes gently, following her reactions with each tentative lick and searing kiss. With her hands firmly gripping his head she pushes back, bringing him to her button just atop her slit.

 **"Aaah, Yes! oh Kumonji not my- Ah!"** Her voice is cut off by her own cry of delight. He's merciless, circling around her clit and zigzagging down her peach. His arms feel so stiff from staying in their uncomfortable position for so long, so he allows them to come out from under him reaching back for the top of the bed. However, at that moment his tongue curled up and in, hooking right into the most sensitive part of her core. With one last lewd moan her thighs around his head clenched down, trapping him as her womanhood covered his face in her release. She dismounted his face and reached behind her back to remove the last boundary between them. With her bra off and her magnificent bust now exposed, she slid back, taking a hold of his manhood and guiding him in.

 **"I want you to go all the way with me. Kumonji-chan.."** Her hips dropped onto his. In one achingly slow push, she enveloped his whole rod, causing them both to hiss in joy. She still had the top, but brought him up into a sitting position, face to face. His hands found her bouncing breasts and cupped them both while she rode him.

 _'Not this time'_ he thought when she moved to protest. Removing his hands from her bust he brought them up over her head and behind her onto her soft toned rear and took hold. Her eyes widened when all at once his shaft began moving into her faster and he muffled her moans with a loving kiss. She wanted to deny him, to assert her dominance, but then the part of her that for so long was insecure finally broke, letting her be vulnerable.

 _'Just this once.'_ His thrusts rippled through her in sheer bliss, every time their hips met with a wet smack only to hungrily demand more. Her vice-like grip of soft velvet wrapped tighter around his shaft and sent him closer and closer to the edge. He was already close from her teasing earlier, but now with renewed lust they took each other, no longer mistress and servant. For this moment, they truly understood each other, there was nothing else. Only him, only her. They pushed and humped and kissed faster, neither one wanting to climax first. Just a little longer, don't let it end. Everything went hazy, an electric shock ripped through both of them and at once they both came, locked in embrace. Once they had both calmed down and looked into each others eyes she took his arms, still bound behind her, and draped his wrists around her neck. They leaned their foreheads against each other, seemingly reading each others minds when words failed them.

 **"I love you Akeno."**

 **"I love you Kumonji."**

Neither one moved, savoring the afterglow in the dim candlelight. They kissed again, and then again until Akeno unbound his hands and they fell asleep in each others arms.

* * *

 _ **End of Chapter  
**_


End file.
